Ice Age: Deep Heart
by Ivy Talonboom
Summary: Originally 'Ice Age 1, 2, 3, & 4'. Casy, a female saber joins the group to take Pinky back to his tribe. Will Casy and Diego be able to get along and become friends, and will Casy fall for him and his 'charms? throughout their adventures?
1. Casy The Saber

**A/N: Hey! :D I am so, so, so, so, so sorry for not updating in a while. Yes, I deleted the original story but I felt like I was putting the stories together just to get reviews and trust me, I really wasn't. But reviews don't hurt. ;) The story will be longer and the third story will be based on the new Ice Age movie and the fourth story will be based on my own.**

**My grandfather died about two months ago or so, so yeah. I've been working on my album and such. Ideas would be nice too and I'm wiling for a co-writer. ;)**

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"Hey, look at that. Dinner and a show."

Casy approached at the edge of the ledge that looked out the entire camp of the DoDo birds. There weren't many birds left now that some of them got burned in that small lava pit, not to mention them running off the cliff to get that watermelon. Casy shook her head when a tall pile of the birds tumbled towards the cliff and they all fell to the edge. She looked over at who said about a show and found out it must've been the mammoth below her. Along with the mammoth was a male saber, a sloth, and a…baby? As she could tell, the baby was currently eating a smashed watermelon, his face already messy from it.

Casy was quite surprise that a sloth, a saber, and a baby would be together. It was down right odd. And usually, when a saber was with a sloth and mammoth, they would usually go after them and not just stand there like the saber was. Casy should know. She was a saber; a female saber that was. Her fur was like the males below her but it was a little lighter. Her eyes were a solid blue color. So fierce and strong. Unlike the saber she saw with the mammoth and sloth, she was small than him. About a couple of inches and she was thinner but still had muscles in her that made her look strong. And unlike male sabers, Casy didn't have two teeth grown outside of her mouth and her tail was longer. It reached to the ground and the tip of it had a golden color on it.

Casy scoffed. "Oh please!" she said, the four of them looking up at her. The male saber got in a position, ready to go after her, showing his teeth just the slightest. He growled at her but Casy didn't seem to notice. "You haven't seen entertainment like I have." Casy jumped from rock to rock to get down and she did so after a few seconds. The sloth jumped when he saw that she was a saber.

"Ahhh!" he screamed, going behind the saber, who was still in his position. "It's a saber! Protect me, Diego!" The saber, as known as Diego, just growled louder. Casy then noticed his position and smirked.

"Oooo! Aren't you scary!" She pretended to be afraid of him by backing away from him in fake fear, her eyes only giving away her tease. "Oh dear! I'm going to be attacked! What shall I do?" Diego growled once more and actually went to go after her, though Casy didn't fear him a bit. Just as he was jumping in the air, the mammoth stepped in front of Diego and caught him with his tusks. Diego clawed and kicked, trying to get off the trunk.

"Calm down, tiger," the mammoth said, setting Diego down. The saber grumbled and turned away. Casy looked at him in amusement, feeling quite proud of herself. The mammoth turned to her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Casy," Casy replied, bowing her head. It was something she was always taught and after a few times of doing it, it became a habit. "And you are…?"

"Manfred," the mammoth, as known as Manfred, answered. He pointed towards the saber. "That's Diego." He then pointed at the sloth. "And that's Sid." The sloth waved weakly, fearful of Casy. She smirked at him as he took a few steps back when she took a step closer to him.

"What's wrong, sloth?" she snarled. "Afraid?"

"Yes, in fact," Sid admitted and Casy chuckled. He slowly went towards Manny, Casy watching him. Manny rolled his eyes and moved out of the way, Sid yelping when he was out in the open. He quickly looked around him, frantic to shield him from the she-saber, afraid she was going to go after her any minute . But when Diego was going to go after her, Manny stopped him. So..if Casy was going to go after him, Manny would stop her…right? Just to make sure, Sid grabbed the baby, who had finished eating moments ago and held him in front of his face. Casy rolled her eyes.

"Oh please…" she muttered, shaking her head. Manny leaned towards her.

"You get used to it after a while," he told her. Casy looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks for the tip," Casy said. Diego then spoke up, stepping in front of her.

"You look quite familiar," he mused, looking her up and down, eying her rather suspiciously. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," Casy answered, shaking her head. "I don't know anyone with the name Diego." It was then that she noticed Manny taking the baby from Sid and around his trunk. "Um…cute kid." Manny looked at her, Casy raising an eyebrow. "Um…"

"No."

"I figured. No mammoth, sloth, or saber could ever have a human as a child."

"Now here's a question," Diego butt in. "What's a saber like you doing in the crackpot's area?" Casy smirked and stood up straight.

"I could ask you the very same question, _Diego_." Her voice had mockery in it, as if she was begging to have a fight with Diego. The male growled at her but that's all he did. Just growl. Sid, apparently seeing her as a friendly gal, approached her.

"Are you traveling alone?" he asked. "No one with you? No family member?" Casy just shook her head and he smiled. Casy didn't expect him to say what he said next. "Why don't you come with us?"

"No!" Diego barked almost immediately, recovering from his own shock at Sid's words. Everyone looked at him, including the baby. "I-I mean..she could…uh…have a disease!" Casy growled, taking offense at that. She slowly walked towards Diego, glaring daggers at him.

"Do you want to find out?" she sneered. Diego backed away from her in disgust and Casy smiled crookedly. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

"Actually, Diego," Manny spoke up, walking beside Casy. "I think she would be useful. With her, we can get to Half Peak sooner than expected. Two sabers will make the trip faster." He seemed cheerful at that and Casy knew nothing was going to stop him from allowing her to join. Casy, though, thought she wouldn't be able to stand another minute with Diego. He was so…infuriating!

"Hmm…" Diego looked at Casy, who stood up straighter again, giving him a bold look. "I don't know, Manny…"

"Oh, come on!" Sid whined, crossing his arms. "What's wrong with her, Diego? She's strong, she's friendly, and…she's a female." At that, he winked at Diego and nudged him in the shoulder, which Diego responded by pulling his ears back, a frown appearing on his face.

"I'll just pretend that you didn't say that," he said dryly. Manny sighed, beginning to walk forwards.

"She's coming with us and that's final," he declared. Diego's eyes widened and turned to Manny in shock.

"But Manny-"

"That's final!"

Diego grumbled while Sid just smiled, pleased with himself. He ran off when Diego gave him a look. Casy walked towards him and stood right in front of him. "Don't worry, I won't make a fool out of you." She paused for a moment to add a chuckle. "At least not too much."

Diego growled but heaved out a sigh.

"This is going to be a looong trip," he muttered to himself.

After Diego got back in line with the others, the gang, including Casy, started walking. It was quiet at first, an awkward silence hitting them. This gave time of what she thought of the four. Each by each member, Casy thought of them. She started with Manny.

Manny seemed alright. He seemed friendly and all, but also a little moody. Like he never has fun and is always serious about everything. It's like he's never been happy before and Casy was starting to think that theory was true. She's seen many mammoths before. Babies, adults, and young ones, and they always seemed happy. Manny was different, and Casy always liked different. It meant that others had the guts to do something besides doing the same boring thing like others did. But that was beside the point; Manny needed to have fun. And thinking about fun made Casy grin. She was sure she could do that.

Next was Sid. She had a few problems with him but nothing that she couldn't fix. He seemed scared of everything, though Casy was not the judgmental one, she just could tell. He stunk badly from what Casy could smell from the distance and he was…odd. His eyes were different sizes, he had two front teeth out of his mouth, and he was just plain odd. Very odd. His voice sounded weird too. Just all over Sid…he was odd. Casy wrinkled her nose when she then caught a sniff of the sloth.

And last but not least, Diego. Even after knowing him for a while, Casy had one word for him: Irritating. He reminded her of her brother, Trevor. He was exactly like Diego and Casy though that those two would get along just fine. Sure Casy thought he was a little good looking. Muscles like he had would draw any female to him but his attitude was so bold. Daring. Trouble like. But Casy suppose that most males were like that.

The baby that Manny was holding however, was just cute and adorable. Casy had to smile at that. She just hope she could make friends with most of the members, even with Diego, though Casy knew it would be hard to do so.

"What is it, Sid?" Casy asked in annoyance as Sid sighed for the third time. Manny and Diego were in front while Casy and Sid were in back.

"Oh nothing," Sid said as if it wasn't nothing.

Casy merely nodded and silently sighed when Sid remained quiet. She thought that he would quit doing that when she showed her annoyance. But she was wrong. He sighed once again. "Okay, sloth, what is it that you want?"

"Pee."

Casy looked at him like he was crazy, her eye twitching. Diego and Manny heard this as well, Diego snickering and Manny shook his head. Diego turned his head around to Casy, a smirk on his face.

"He means he has to go pee," he said. Sid nodded quickly.

"And badly!" Sid said, now putting his hands in front of him, thinking it would hold his bladder. "So…can we please stop for a moment?" Casy rolled her eyes as Diego turned his head back.

"Can't you hold it?" Sid shook his head.

"At the feeling, nope!" he squeaked. Casy raised an eyebrow.

"Not even five minutes?" Casy asked.

"Seriously, Casy!" Sid exclaimed, his voice getting squeakier by the second. "I really don't think I can hold my pee."

"Sid…" Manny sighed. "If we stop then it will take longer."

"But if we don't," Sid began. "We'll have an accident." Casy smirked and muttered to herself, though Sid heard her.

"I'm thinking that too…" Diego laughed out loud, an actual laugh at Casy's joke. Manny gave him a look and Diego cleared his throat.

"Um…Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. Manny heaved out a sigh; a sigh of defeat and the gang stopped their walking.

"Alright, Sid." Manny motioned towards a bush they were just now walking by, only a few feet away from them. "Go take your potty break." As Manny said this, Sid let a relief expression spread over his face.

"That's okay." Sid sighed in slight relief with mixture of happiness. "I don't have to go anymore." Casy, Diego, and Manny looked at each other for a moment before they looked at Sid and stepped back from him in disgust, while chorusing,

"Ewww…"

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**A/N: So, did you like it, although it's kind of the same. Please review**.


	2. Kitty Cats

**A/N: I thought I update since I gotten so nice reviews. :) Okay, so I decided to have all four stories in one. I might get a lot of reviews but that is not why, so I don't have to make story after story and so on. Anyway, here is chapter two and though the chapters will remain the same, I will try to make them seem a little different. But for one thing, I will soooo try to see Ice Age 3! :D I don't know how I'm gonna do that story; I might do it by myself and try to remember or wait until it's out on DVD. And have you seen the trailer? It seems like Scrat might have a love interest. ;) Scrata; I think that's how you spell it.**

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"I like this spot!"

"Eh. It's alright."

"Alright? Just alright? How can you say that, Diego? It's beautiful, it's comfy, it's-"

"Okay Sid," Casy groaned as she lay down. "We get it. It's a nice spot." Sid smiled at her as the others laid down, the baby still in Manny's trunk. Sid didn't lie down though; he went off towards a tree and pulled back a branch of it as he walked by it.

"Now to find a meal befitting a conquering hero!" Sid declared as he let go of the branch, it hitting him right in the back. Sid fell to the ground but got up quickly. "What ho? A foe?" He pulled his hands up, now them in fists and turned to the tree and pretended to hit it. "Come on, come on. You want a piece of me?" Sid lifted his arms in the air, one in front of him and the other one behind him, his leg lifting up as well. He made a kung fu noise. He pushed his hand into the tree and pulled out an acorn. Sid smiled, walking off to the gang. "Spoils worthy of such a noble-" Sid threw the acorn in the air and opened his mouth to catch it. He did so but as he did, Scrat came flying to Sid and knocked him to the ground. Sid tried to take Scrat off of him but it did no good. Scrat then pulled the acorn out from Sid's mouth and muttered a few words of his language, his fist shaking in the air at Sid. He then ran off with it and Sid just sat there for a moment, shocked. After a few moments, Sid shook his head and got back to the gang, where the baby was fast asleep.

"There's the hero," Manny said jokingly when he saw Sid walking upon back to them. Casy chuckled, putting her head on her paws, but keeping her eyes open, watching Sid. Diego was already asleep and Casy had to roll her eyes at it. Oh sure he was bold and annoying during the day but during the night? He was tired as a mouse.

"Huh? Oh, that." Sid laughed. "I'm so full," he added, sitting down behind a rock. He leaned forward to Manny and the baby slightly. "How about a good-night kiss for your big buddy, Sid?"

"Shhh!" Manny said, giving Sid a look. He nodded his head towards the baby. "He's asleep."

"I was talking to you," Sid said, turning his head away from Manny. Casy shook her head in disbelief, laughing the slightest. Sid looked at her. "What?" He then looked back at Manny and saw that he was giving him a look. "Fine, I'll tuck myself in." He dusted some little rocks off the rock and with a yawn, Sid slide himself on it, his head leaning on the edge of the rock to the side. "All right, good night." Casy looked over at Manny when Sid scratched his foot, and Manny just shrugged. Casy looked back at Sid to see if he was going to do anything else. And sure enough he did. For a few minutes he shifted around the rock. He grunted, kicked his feet, and yawned. Finally…Casy couldn't take it anymore.

"Will you just stop it!" she yelled, causing Sid to jump and lift his head up. Manny shushed her and then looked down at the baby, who didn't got waken up. Manny looked back up as Sid talked.

"All right, all right! I was trying to relax."

Sid turned around on the rock and laid on his side, sucking his thumb. Casy shook her head and went to sleep.

"Oy…" Manny groaned.

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Diego groaned slightly as he slowly opened his eyes. He blinked away the blurriness and stood up a few moments later. He stretched and let out a little roar as he yawned. He looked around him and found Manny and Casy still sleeping but Sid wasn't at the rock. Diego raised an eyebrow but shook his head. He was probably out getting into trouble…or getting eaten. Diego smiled at that; he'd be surprise at anyone who would eat him. Diego looked at Casy and strolled over to her.

He knew exactly who Casy was, even if she tried to hide it with rudeness and annoyance. She had the same fur, the same eyes, the same tail. Diego knew who she was when he first saw her, and he knew that she had to get a little punishment from going out in the wild. Diego lifted his paws, his claws coming out. Just as he was going to swipe at Casy, someone spoke behind him.

"What are you doing?" Diego jumped, he quickly stealth his claws. He whirled around and behind him was Manny.

"Um…N-Nothing!" Diego stuttered, trying to convince him. Manny didn't seem to care at the moment. He stomped his way towards Casy, his eyes glaring daggers at whoever he looked at. Casy's eyes burst opened and she jumped up, looking scared for a moment. She regained her composure when she saw it was Manny, Diego standing beside him.

"Where's the baby?!" Manny exclaimed. Casy looked at him in shock, as did Diego.

"You lost it?!"

Casy, Diego, and Manny looked at each other for a few seconds before the realized…

"SID!!!"

_Meanwhile…_

"It's so ugly. Positively adorable."

"Hello, pumpkin. Hello, little baldy bean."

"Where'd you find it?" a female sloth asked Sid, who was sitting in the middle of the two female sloth's. When Sid had woke up, he decided to look for a mud bath and to his luck, he found one. In one of them, he found two attractive female sloth's and thought him having the baby with him would make them appealing to him. So, carefully, he took the baby from Manny and went back to the mud bath and got in with the two sloth's.

The one to the left had light purple fur, dark purple hair, and purple eyes. Her claws were purple too and her hair was in a weird curly hair-do. Her chest was more puffed out than the other one's. The sloth to the right had lighter fur than Sid. Her hair was blonde and in a high pony tail, the front part of it curved slightly. She had two front teeth out and pink lips, along with green eyes.

"The poor kid, all alone in the wild," Sid began his heroic tale. "Sabers were closing in on him. "So I just snatched him."

"So brave!" the blonde sloth cooed.

"Yeah, well, he needed me, and I only wish I had one of my own, too."

"Really?!" the purple sloth exclaimed, startling Sid. She blushed, realizing that she said that a little loud. "I find that attractive in a male." Sid was flustered a little, letting go of the baby when he spoke, the baby sinking in the mud.

"Alas," Sid sighed. "Who wouldn't want a family, I always say." Sid looked down and then back at the blonde sloth as she spoke, though not really listening to what she was saying. After a second or so, Sid quickly looked down, now more alerted towards the baby and quickly pulled him out of the mud.

"Yeah, well, you know…" Sid trailed off. The baby threw some mud on Sid and he coughed a couple of times. "Cute kid, huh?"

"So, as I was saying, ladies…" Sid reached out of the mud bath and grabbed something long and wiped his face with it, some snort sounds coming from Sid. He then looked at what he was holding and found it was a trunk. Sid looked up at him, finding Manny glaring down at him.

"What's the matter with you?" Manny said, using his trunk to take the baby from the Sid. He then walked off.

_To Casy and Diego…_

The two were standing at the entrance of the area with the mud bath. They have yet seen Manny since he woke her up, nor the baby. Casy was tempted to go right in the area and bring Sid right out but mud and Casy did not mix for her. She had an horrible experience with it and she shudder the thought. She still has nightmares about it.

"So…um... Your name is Casy, huh?" Casy looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah…" she trailed off, raising an eyebrow. Diego screwed his mouth and just then, there was a yell. And they recognized that yell. It was Sid. Casy rolled her eyes.

"I'm beginning to wonder if he'll ever stay out of trouble," Casy said. Diego smirked.

"What do you think?" he asked. Casy thought about it for a moment before she chuckled and shook her head. It was then that Sid was run-waddling, looking behind him constantly. He jumped when he almost bumped into Diego.

"Oh thank goodness!" Sid whispered, grinning. He held his hands in a plead way and shook them. "Thank goodness!"

"Sid, where have you-"

"Oh no! Tigers! Help! Help!" Sid tried to act in like he was in trouble but he didn't sound the least scared or frightened. Diego ignored him and asked his question.

"Where's the baby?" His voice was a little dark and low, as if to really scare Sid. He acted like if the baby was lost it would be a great big deal out of him. Casy raised her eyebrow at him as Sid talked, not really listening to Diego.

"He's with Manny," he told the tiger, turning back to the entrance. "Oh no! He got me! Help…"

_He really needs to learn how to act_… Casy thought to herself. Sid said something to Diego but she didn't heard what he said. All she heard from Diego was a 'Get away from me' and then he began to walk off. There were some voices in the distance and Casy looked in the distance to see what the fuss was about. She finally then knew why Sid was screaming earlier. Two rhinos were charging towards him. Casy looked over at Sid, who was absolute frantic now. Out of the blew, Sid ran up to Diego and kicked him right in the butt. Casy winced.

"Bad idea, Sid," she said. "Really bad idea."

Diego went after Sid right in a flash, Sid's neck in Diego's mouth, caught between his saber teeth that were grown out of his mouth. And Diego has just did that in time when the rhinos appeared. Sid, who had his head up, held up a hand and then dropped his head, pretending to be dead. I rolled my eyes and mumbled.

"Awww, Carl!" one of the rhinos whined. "The tiger beat us to him."

"Wait a minute," the other rhino, who Casy assumed it was 'Carl', walked up to Sid and sniffed him. He didn't stay up to Sid any longer than a few seconds, for he jumped back and coughed in disgusted. Casy leaned over to Diego.

"Does he really smell that bad?" she whispered to him.

"You have no idea," Diego said, his voice muffled by Sid. "He smells worse than he tastes."

"Yep," Carl said, going back to his original place. "He's dead all right."

"Awww!" the first one whined again, the two heading back to the mud bath area. "Carnivores have all the fun!"

"Gosh." Sid sighed as he lifted his head up, rubbing his head. "I hate breaking their hearts like that." Casy rolled her eyes at that.

_Oh please_!

"But you know how it is." Sid then tried to break free from Diego's grasp but he wouldn't let go. He just growled slightly. "Uh…thanks. You can let go now…" Sid tried once again to break free from Diego but it didn't do no good. "Manny! Manny!" The last part was smaller and quieter than the first one. Casy gave Diego a few more seconds to let Sid go but he didn't. Casy bonk Diego on the head, making him drop Sid right after that, his eyes going daze a little. Sid got up quickly and hid behind his new protector. Diego shook himself out the daze and glared at Casy, getting down low on the ground to pounce her. Casy did the same but did something different than Diego; she bared her teeth. It was then that Sid got frantic again.

"MANNNNNNNNNY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. It only hurt Casy's ears the slightest since he was right behind her. But Manny didn't come. Diego made his move by jumping up in the air and landing on her. They rolled, growled, swatted, and nipped on. Casy was winning so far and Diego…well…he wasn't doing too well. What felt like hours, Manny appeared and put a stop to their fighting, only to get scratched by Casy herself. She backed down when Manny gave her the meanest look he gave anyone.

"Come on," he said sternly, starting his walk. "We need to get moving." Casy looked at Diego and they began to snarl at each other. "AND NO FIGHTING!" Casy jumped the slightest and growled at Diego once more before running off to catch with Manny.

" Boy, for a second there, I thought you were gonna eat me."

"I don't eat junk food."

"Thought you were gonna...I thought you were gonna... Were you?"

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review and thank you to those who had reviewed and such. Keep it coming because I love to read reviews! :)**


	3. Cat Fight

**A/N: Thank you to who has reviewed. :) As someone had requested, I'll try to have Casy talk a little more. If someone wants to help out with the story, that would be nice. Also, if you would like to use Casy in your story, please follow these rules:**

**1. Ask me first, along with telling me the story line and such.**

**2. Let me know when the story is up.**

**3. Please credit me for it.**

**4. If this is a romantic story, then please have her be with no other than Diego.**

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"Come on, wait up. Wait up. Come on, come on. Can you wait a second, please? Fellas!"

"We really should wait for him," Casy told the two, stopping her tracks. All Manny and Diego did was grumble but they stopped anyway. After a few moments, Sid caught up with them and exhausting laid on a rock with a big hole in it. Casy, Manny, and Diego looked at each other in amusement and looked back at Sid, counting down.

"Three…two…one…"

Right on time, Sid suddenly flew up in the air with steam under him. The three began to make their way as Sid flew back down to the rock, his head inside it. "Sure is faithful," Casy said sarcastically. The baby just made cooing noises.

Later on, not even an hour, Sid decided to give Manny a break. He took the baby from him and got in the back, which was behind Casy. It was all nice and quiet until the baby poked Sid in the neck. Sid just smiled down at him and looked back up. The baby poked his neck again, only higher this time and Sid poked him back. The baby poked him harder this time and Sid did the same. The baby did it harder and Sid followed the suit and they were soon engaged in hand slap fight, the baby making protesting cries.

"Don't make me reach back there!" Manny yelled without turning his head around. He knew that either Sid or the baby was causing trouble.

"He started it!" Sid cried.

"I don't care who started it!" Manny yelled, now turning his head around. "I'll finish it!" All Casy did was shake her head.

A couple of hours later, it was nearly the late afternoon and the gang was still walking. Casy was starting to yawn when she felt something cold hit her back. She halted her tracks and whirled her head to Sid, giving him a warning look. All he did was point to the baby, who stared at her innocently.

And couple of more hours later, Manny, Sid, Diego, and Casy were crossing a frozen lake. Everyone but Sid, who was holding the baby, kept on slipping and falling. He skillfully slid around them on his feet, like he had learned how to do that when he was a child. But Casy knew otherwise. He was a sloth. They had patted feet, which only made her growl at Sid when he slid past her, saying hello to her and the others. He did a trick in the air and slide to the right, getting himself stuck into a wall of ice, dropping the baby, who fell on its bottom safely and slid a little ways from Sid. Casy laughed at that and so did Diego. Manny found it amusing himself and was laughing soon. He motioned for Casy and Diego to try to slide themselves across to the other end of the lake as he took the baby.

_Meanwhile…_

Sid was trying to pull his head out of the ice wall when he heard Manny.

"Hey Sid."

"Need some help there?" It was Casy's voice! Sid was getting more better around her and was actually starting to like her, seeing as she protects him from Manny and or Diego.

"Please!" Sid said his voice muffled. Casy chuckled but pulled him out right easy, no bruises or anything on him. Sid smiled gratefully at her before walking off.

"Thanks!" he grinned.

"Anytime, Sid," Casy said as she followed. "Anytime."

_Later…_

"Can we please rest for a few minutes?!" Sid pleaded, being pulled by Casy. He was currently lying on the ground and holding onto Casy's tail, being pulled by her. Surprisingly, Sid wasn't that heavy as Casy thought he was and was having no trouble carrying him. "My arms are starting to hurt and my feet still hurt!"

Diego let out an annoyed sigh and turned his head to Casy, who was walking beside him. He raised an eyebrow. "How long has he been complaining?"

"Three…hours…" Casy's voice sounded unpleasant, dull, and impatient. It was obvious that Sid's whining was getting to her but chose to hold it. Diego could see right through her and knew that her temper that everyone he has heard it from will break soon. Casy was unaware that Diego knew who she was but Diego was more of aware of who she was. She had everything to her. He wanted so badly to swipe at her and yell out "Traitor!" in her face. But though Diego was the rough one of out all the saber packs, he had never swiped at a woman and wasn't going to start to.

"Please guys!" Sid whined not even a minute after.

"Manny, just please let us stop!" Diego insisted. "It'll get this spaz-head to shut up."

"It'll take us longer."

"Which one would you rather choose?" Casy's strong voice made the others stop and turn to her, Sid still holding onto her tail. "Sid complaining and complaining until we find something at night or just take a five minute break to shut the sloth up? Which one sounds better? The choice is yours." Casy smirked at the mammoth who considered her choices. After a minute or so, Manny grumbled a 'fine' and they all sat down. Sid didn't hesitate, he let go of Casy's tail right away and sat down on the ground "Ahh-ing" in relief as he did. Casy shook her head, looking at to see what Diego was doing. Apparently he was taking his sweet time to take a kitty nap. Casy smirked and slowly stood up and stretched, letting out a moan. Diego opened his eyes, which held frustration. Casy looked over at him and chuckled.

"Don't mind me," she said. "Go back to your wittle kitty itty wap," Casy cooed, getting Diego growling. He stood up in the instant, glaring at her sharply.

"For your information, it's not a 'wittle kitty itty wap'," Diego mimicked Casy's voice and she found it surprisingly very good. "It's a beauty rest nap. You know, to take away the stress from you and Sid." Casy scoffed.

"Yeah right!" she cackled. It may of sounded harsh and a little strong but it was Diego who was starting. And when someone was pulling her into something, she couldn't pull herself out from it. "We're stressful? How about you! You're the most stressful one of this…herd." Diego growled at her, and Casy took that as a compliment to continue. "Are you always this grumpy? Are you never happy?"

"I'm never happy," Diego snarled, getting down low on the ground, ready to pounce. "All my happiness went away years ago." Casy did the same thing he did and Sid quickly stood up.

"Okay!" he said, clapping his hands together, trying to get the two to stop. "I think my feet are better."

"Shhh!" Manny hissed to Sid, his eyes intently on the two growling sabers. "This is getting good!"

"Um…Manny? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

Sid sighed in defeat and sat back down and watched Casy and Diego as they started to circle around each other. Sid's eyes widened at that. They really were going to fight! And a big one, that is. The one back at the mud pits was just a little one and playful, Sid didn't think that they really meant it. But now…circling around each other…this was not going to be pretty, though Manny seemed interested in it while the baby hid his face in Manny's trunk. Sid bit his lip. He just hope no one would actually get hurt.

"What's wrong?" Casy smirked at Diego when he said nothing back. "Cat's got your tongue?"

"No…" Diego glared at her even more, starting to bare his teeth. "More like cat's got your strings!" With that, Diego went to jumped on Casy but she moved out of the way easily and quickly, Diego jumping on the snow instead. He snarled as he got some snow in his eyes and tried to wipe it away with his paw. Suddenly though, he felt weight on him and he was then rolling in the snow with the weight. He found out it was Casy and the fight begun.

Diego threw Casy off him, her barley landing on her feet, but she managed. Sid scarily watched them, biting on his fingers nervously. Diego jumped up on Casy and they swatted at each other, almost getting cut in the face by both of them. Casy ran around Diego's back and before he could turn around, Casy jumped on him and bit his back. Diego let out a loud roar of pain and roughly pushed Casy off him, now both of them panting. Though Diego was panting for a different reason and that was because of the pain that was left lingering from Casy's bite. They growled at each other while they circled around.

"Not too shabby," Diego panted, seemingly impressed, though the smirk gave it away on his face to Casy. She growled at him and pounced on him. They began to roll around in the snow, swatting and biting each other occasionally. Finally it ended with Casy pinning Diego to the ground, her teeth bared at him, and growling and panting heavily. Her hot breath hit his face as she showed who she truly was. Diego didn't miss a beat of her. Her fiery fighting gave it all away. Diego smirked.

"Not bad…Miss Jones," Diego said in a mumble. Casy's eyes widened and she pressed her paws harder into his shoulders, making him grunt.

"Do you want to repeat that?" Casy growled in no mercy, her claws now going into Diego's skin. He slightly winced at the sharp pain and he gritted his teeth.

"Not…really…" he said through his teeth, harder for him to talk. Having to gather up his breath and trying to talk at the same time wasn't easy.

"Yeah…" Casy bellowed. "I didn't think so." She took her claws out of Diego's skin and then got off him, letting him stand up. Diego did so and glared daggers at her, as did Casy. Sid looked between them and then at Manny, who was staring at them in amazement.

"Alright!" he half shouted to get the sabers from each other. They only looked at him. "Casy, you stay by Sid and Diego, you stay by me. I want you two to be far away from each other as possible."

"Gladly!" Casy yelled, tilting her head to Diego, who growled at her.

"Be happy to!"

"Good. I'm glad you'll be happy to."

"I'm glad you think so."

"I'm glad you think I'm glad."

"I'm glad you think that's glad that I'm glad."

"Good."

"Fine!"

"NOW!" Manny yelled right at the top of his lungs as he stood up. Diego huffed and trotted towards Manny while Casy stayed where she was. Sid stood up and stood to Casy's side. Casy and Diego stared at each other, both trying to look more dangerous. Manny rolled his eyes and began walking. "Come on!" Diego slowly turned around and began walking beside Manny, Casy and Side walking side by side. It then became silent until Sid decided to try to ease Casy's anger. So he stopped for a moment, made a snow ball, and threw it at Casy, who stopped in her tracks and glared at him. Sid shrugged and Casy turned her head back around.

"Manny…" she trailed off, going back to her tracks.

"I'm on it."

Moments later, Sid was attacked by a big snow ball.

Casy had calmed down by the time Diego picked up his pace in front of him. Casy looked over at him to see him by an ice wall, though it actually looked to be more like an ice cave. She shrugged and took a deep breath, swallowing down her pride. She needed to apologize. It wasn't his fault; it was hers. She was just teasing but she should of have known that it would've turned into fighting. That's how Casy was. She picks a tease and then boom! It's a fight. Casy quietly left Sid's side and made her way towards, Diego looking around.

"What are you looking for?" Casy asked, using her friendly voice.

"A short cut," was Diego's reply. He didn't even look at her when he replied like he would usually. Casy sighed, knowing it was because of her.

_You were pretty rude back there. All he was doing was resting his eyes! Does that bother you so much_?

No, it doesn't and it didn't. Perhaps it was because Casy learned that Diego was an easy target. Perhaps it was because he gets frustrated easily. Perhaps because she just wanted to fight. Casy didn't know why she even caused the fight but now she was sorry. She wanted to befriend with the gang and starting a fight with one of them was not going to help. Casy sighed once more and looked up at Diego.

"Look, I'm sorry," Casy said. Diego just scoffed. "No, seriously. I am. I'll make it up to you, I promise." Diego got closer to her in a threaten manner and Casy shrunk back a little.

"The last person who said that to me was before they killed my family." Casy pushed back her ears and cringed at the bitterness in his voice.

"I'm not a killer," Casy said truthfully. "Give me a chance. I'll prove it to you that I'm trying to be a friend." Diego looked at her thoughtfully long and hard before he finally nodded.

"Alright, fine," he said. "You get one chance to prove it to us. You better think fast; I tend to get impatient."

"No kidding…" Casy said under her breath. She looked up at the ice wall and her eyes widen slightly. She then looked at Diego as he ran towards Manny and Sid, who was now catching up on them.

**

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A/N: So, did you like it? Please review. Also, the CasyxDiego 100 one-shot needs some requests. ;) Feel free to tell me in a review or a P.M. of your request**.


	4. A Ride On Ice

**A/N: I'm only posting this chapter because I started posting this story last week. ;) Lol. And also because I just want the first story posted where I can post the second story. But before you read on, I need to ask you guys something.**

**It would probably keep the story interesting if someone wrote it with me. Yes, I am asking for a co-writer. ;) So, anyone who wants to be my co-writer, don't hesitate to offer. I'll look at your stories and see your writing style. That's all I need to know, really. Alrighty. Thanks to who have reviewed and also, don't hesitate to request one-shots for 'CasyxDiego 100 one-shot'; I'm stuck and need requests.**

**I hope you'll like the chapter**.

**Oh! And also, check my other account 'Princessofthewoods'; you can follow me on twitter, facebook, and much more. :) And if you have skype, go on and add me as 'Elizabethbecks'.**

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"Great news! I found a shortcut."

"What do you mean, shortcut?"

"I mean faster than the long way around."

"Ow! I know what a short cut is!"

"I have to agree on Diego on this," Casy spoke up, taking her place beside Diego. " Either we beat the humans to Glacier Pass or we take the long way and miss 'em." She didn't know about Diego's little plan. She thought that taking the cave would be faster and much better, rather than walking in a blizzer or five feet of snow. Manny looked at Diego.

"Through there?" he asked. The tiger nodded. "What do you take me for?"

"This time tomorrow, you could be a free mammoth," Diego said as the baby slide down Manny right side of his face and pulled on his eye lid. Manny yanked him off and sat him on his head. "Or nanny. Personally, I never get tired of peekaboo." Just then, Sid came along with two icicles in his hands.

"Hey guys!" he said, grinning. "Guys, check this out." He put the icicles on both sides of his neck and made a gagging noise. He tumbled a couple of times, making the noises again. Casy found this entirely disgusting. It was pointless to even play like that, or play at all when they had something seriously on their paws. When Sid was near Casy, she knocked the icicles out of his hands and earned an offended look from Casy. "Hey! I was using those!"

"And now you're not," Casy said simply, a small smirk on her lips. Sid gave her a look but turn his attention on Manny when he patted his shoulder.

"Sid, the tigers found a short cut."

Sid looked up at the cave he looked at Casy and Manny, obviously now fearing continuing on with the journey. "No thanks," Sid said, turning around to walk off. "I choose life." Casy and Diego were quick to get in front of Sid, giving him a dirty look. When it came to taking someone back to their herds, Casy would not hesitate on that.

"Then I suggest you take the short cut," Diego said in a low voice that made Sid back away from him.

"Are you threatening me?" Sid asked in a teasing tone, pointing a finger at Diego.

"Move sloth!" Casy yelled. Her voice echoed throughout the area. Seconds later, above them, big pieces to the ice that was attached to the cave began to crack. Sid patted Casy's head.

"Way to go, tiger," he muttered. Casy paid no mind to him, her eyes widening as the pieces began to fall.

"Quick!" Manny said, running towards the inside of the cave. "Inside!" The rest didn't hesitate. They sped into the cave, one of the pieces almost crashing down on Sid. They made it inside of the cave safely but more pieces fell down all the way to the top, trapping them inside. They heard light jiggling and they looked up, finding icicles shaking and they were right above them. The gang looked at each other before making their way to the entrance, but only to stop because of the rocks.

"Okay…" Manny trailed off, turning around and beginning to walk off. "I vote short cut."

The others followed them, Casy behind Manny and Sid walking beside her, behind Diego. Casy looked around her as they walked. She knew where exactly to go and what this cave was. The one good thing she was taught by her lousy father was that how to make your way out of a cave, especially an ice cave. It was one of the things that Casy was an expert at. She didn't notice that Sid had knocked himself out.

"Do you know what this cave is?" Manny asked no one in particular. Diego shook his head.

"I do," Casy piped up. She didn't mean to say anything but she couldn't but help to speak. Diego turned his head around and raised an eyebrow at her. "My father is an expert on caves." Diego looked at Manny for permission and Manny nodded. Diego looked back at Casy and motioned for her to come in front. Casy smiled and did so, letting out an "Hmph!" to Diego. He rolled his eyes as Casy got right in front of them.

"So…" Manny began after a few moments of silence. "What is this cave?"

"It's what humans use for protection if their tribe in being attacked," Casy replied. "They quickly pack some wood, raw fish, some blankets and gather up before the attackers can get to their tribe and head to this cave. They mostly do that when another tribe is going to attack them. They go here for couples of hours and send out one of the warriors to check their village." Manny and Diego blinked in surprise. Who knew one petite saber knew so much about a cave? Manny opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw Sid waddling behind him, trying to catch up.

"Will you keep up, please?" Manny asked in frustration. Little did Manny know that the baby got picked up by an ice slide that he was walking over, which somehow, Diego found a way to get on its side. "Hard enough to keep track of one baby."

The four then found out about the baby and watched him calmly as he slide towards an entrance of the slide. The baby then waved and dropped down.

Casy chuckled. "Isn't that cute?" she said. "That baby is taking a ride around this cave." But then everyone looked at each other, realizing that the baby had dropped and could possibly got hurt. The gang's eyes widened and they yelled.

"AHHHHHH!"

They rushed over to the entrance and found the baby sliding down a curve ice slide. Casy knew it was going to be long. So, wanting to get it over with, she jumped first, hearing Sid, Diego, and Manny doing the same thing. She tried to use her claws to stop from going too fast on the slide but the ice was too slippery. She felt someone bump against her back and knew it was Diego because she heard his grunt. Manny and Sid bumped up against Diego, making him push Casy a little more. They then flew up in the air, all four of them going in different entrances, Casy and Diego in the same one. They didn't stay in it that long, for they were flying all around the icy place. This time, Casy ended up with Sid, her sliding right behind him. He used his hands to speed up on the baby. He reached out his arms for the baby but couldn't reach him. Sid cheered a couple of times just for the fun of it and then he used his hands once again.

"I gotcha!" Sid said, grinning as he caught the baby around the waist.. Casy grinned herself and cheered.

"Go Sid!"

It was then that Sid dropped down a small hole, the baby going up in the air and landing on the other side. Casy almost went down with Sid but used her claws to hold onto the edges. Surprisingly, Casy managed to keep a hold on the edges and pulled herself up, starting to slide after the baby again. After many turns and ducking, Casy landed flew up in the air and saw Manny, Sid, and Diego. Sid was on Manny's tusks and Diego was clinging at the back of Manny. And unfortunately for Casy, she landed right on Diego, her paws going to his eyes. He grunted and moved her paws, looking up at her in annoyance. All Casy did was smile innocently. It was then that they saw they were sliding to a very thin, yet curve ice edge.

"Captain!" Sid yelled, taking Manny's trunk and talked into it. "Ice berg ahead!" (**A/N: Hmmm...reminds me of something. ;)** )

They stopped just in time and everyone breathed a sigh in relief, watching as the baby slid off. The ice they were on began to crack and began to lower down.

"Oh no," Diego said, his eyes widening.

"Oh no is write, my saber friend!" Casy exclaimed as the ice dropped down and began to slide. They all yelled when they saw icicles pointing up right in front of them but luckily, the ice piece they were on broke them as it slid through them. They then flew a little up in the air a few seconds later and they all got off Manny and onto different ice slides. The baby was right next to Sid on the other slide and Sid reached out to him but missed. Sid snapped his fingers in disappointment.

Apparently, the slide that the baby was on, had a limit to it since it showed that it had a curve on it. The baby flew up in the air and everyone watched him. Manny stood up, readying himself to catch the baby. Sid looked ahead and screamed. In front of them was a wall that would end their sliding adventure and right in the front of it was Scrat, trying to get his acorn out of the wall. He tried to pull it out but it didn't do. He turned around to walk off a little ways but screamed when he saw the gang sliding towards him. He quickly turned around and hurriedly tried to pull the acorn out of the wall. Unfortunately…he couldn't…and got hit with Sid as he rammed into the wall, leaving a mark of him on it. Next was Diego. And then Casy. And as Sid and Diego were poking their heads out of Casy's marking on the wall from ramming into it, they saw Manny sliding towards them, his back turned to them. They screamed, which was interrupted by Manny ramming into them and the wall.

Ice spilled all over, which turned into snow, creating a pile all over them. Sid and Manny weren't pile by it but Casy and Diego were and Diego was the first to pop out of it, thrilled by the little adventure.

"Whoo!" he cheered. "Who's up for round two?!" It was then Casy popped up next to Diego, a grin on her face.

"Let's go again!" she cheered as well. "Let's go again!" Diego grinned at her and Casy grinned back but she frowned when Sid just stared at them and when Manny gave them a look. Diego did so as well and cleared his throat, him and Casy stuttering.

"I…Um…uh…just…"

"Just…tell the kid to be more careful…"

Scrat, meanwhile, popped up from the snow pile. He pushed the snow off his eyes and looked around for the acorn. He suddenly cheered up and pranced his way to the right, thinking that's were his acorn way, but instead ran into a wall with an acorn drawn on it. He whined.

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Finally after walking their through the icy cave, the gang managed to get out of that part into a less-icier part of the cave. All around them were drawings on the walls. Left to right, even up the walls were drawings. Casy was in front of Manny, Sid, and Diego while they were walking side by side, looking around the cave.

"Whoa…" Sid whispered in amazement when they came across a different area in the cave. Everywhere there were drawings and the gang couldn't but just stare at it in awe. Sid waddled towards a drawing of a saber biting down on antelope. The baby, obliviously afraid of it, buried his head in Sid's neck. "No, it's okay. It's okay." The baby turned his head back at the drawing. "Look, the tigers are just playing tag with the antelope…" Sid paused for a moment to look at the drawing and he became nervous at what he realized what the saber was doing. "…with their teeth." It was then Diego came up to Sid, walking around him hauntingly.

"Come on, Sid," he said. "Let's play tag. You're it." Sid chuckled nervously while Casy just shook her head.

"He's only kidding," Casy assured him when Diego was by Manny's side. Sid smiled at her, as if telling her thanks. Casy walked with Manny, leaving Sid to walk on the other side of the wall.

"Okay, okay, okay," Sid said, his eyes searching on the wall. "Where are the sloth's? You never see any sloths. Have you ever noticed?" Sid then noticed something on the wall that made him happy. He pointed it repeatedly. "Look, Manny! A mammoth!"

"Oh somebody pinch me," Manny said sarcastically. Casy shook her head and mumbled to herself. He seriously didn't had to be so moody. Then again…it was just a drawing…

"That one looks just like you!" Sid said, setting down the baby. Diego walked up behind him and looked at the drawings. Casy was next to follow Diego's suit as Sid continued. "And he's got a family. And he's happy. Look, he's playing with his kid. See? That's your problem." Diego nudged Casy and she looked at him. He motioned towards Manny and Casy looked at him, frowning upon seeing his sadden face. Casy looked at Sid and tried to stop him.

"That's what mammoths are supposed to do."

"Sid…"

"Find a she-mammoth, have baby mammoths…"

"Sid!" Diego barked, making the sloth jumped. He turned towards Diego.

"What?" he asked.

"Shut up," Casy told him. Sid looked confused than ever.

"But..but…" Sid's attention turned to Manny and he stopped stuttering. "Oh…" Manny was quiet for a long moment. Casy and Diego looked at each other sadly. Manny pulled his trunk towards the painting he was looking at and touched it, as if recalling a memory. As he moved his trunk across the drawing, the baby's hand slide up on it, Manny's trunk touching the baby's hand. He looked down at the baby, finding him standing up, though bent over a little. He tumbled forwards and if it wasn't for Manny putting his trunk in front of him, he would've fallen. Manny wrapped his trunk around the baby and lifted him up and stared at the baby. Unexpected, the baby hugged the tusk and Manny pulled the baby to him, closing his eyes. Sid, who had wiped a tear from his eye, wiped his finger on Casy's fur, who looked at him in disgust.

"Oh Sid!" Casy yelled, looking down where Sid had wiped. Diego just laughed while Sid just looked at her sheepishly. Manny pulled away from the baby and put him on his head, starting to walk off. Sid clasped his hands together happily, earning odd looks from Diego, who frowned and waddled-run his way to follow Manny. Casy looked at Diego and shook her head, letting out a small sigh from her lips. She began to follow Sid and Diego stared at the drawing sadly for a moment before following Casy slowly.

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review, offer, and request. ;)**


	5. Lava And Making Friends

**A/N: I suppose I have had you waiting long enough, huh? I'm sorry for not updating when I was to update, I just didn't feel like it. You know, being lazy and stuff. ;) I actually saw Ice Age 3 and it got me right back on track! I'm working on the third set of this story.**

**I got a co-writer too and a very good one, that is. :) She actually edited this chapter a little and so thank you! Check out her stories; she is a super great writer, better than me, that's for sure! Her pename is:**

**Angsty Anime Star. Check her out!**

**Well, here is the chapter and I hope you'll like it.**

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"Would you look at that. The tigers actually did it, "Manny said in a much lighter tone than earlier. Casy grinned; they were merely a few miles away from half peak. All they had to do now was take a fair sized walk and they would be there. "There's Half Peak. Next stop, Glacier Pass."

As they started walking, Casy started to feel a little sad. Sure she helped them through the cave and it was true what Manny said when they first met; they would get there easily with her. Well, and Diego. In a maximum of two days and a half, they were almost there to take the baby back to it's herd. But she couldn't but help what would happen after that. Would she leave? Would she leave with them? Or would they separate or leave without her? Despite the annoyance from Sid and Diego, Casy has found herself starting to get close to them.. Sure Sid was…different…but he was actually a nice sloth. Diego…he was the same as what Casy thought of him at first but with some differances. For one, he seemed to be an okay guy, once you pass his grumpy and rude attitude. He can be funny at times and even sympathetic when one of his buddies was feeling down.

_I suppose everyone does have a heart_…Casy thought to herself.

She thought she felt herself go out sometimes by his looks. Casy couldn't deny it; Diego was handsome. But it didn't mean she had to start liking him. Casy shook her head. She couldn't like Diego. She and him…? She almost laughed out loud. It was ridiculous! They couldn't even walk side by side. She couldn't imagine of being in a relationship with him. Casy chuckled to herself at that; she knew that'd be a mess. She was just about to think of something else she had remembered Diego said earlier when Sid broke her out from her thoughts.

"My feet are sweaty." Casy rolled her eyes.

"Do we have to get a news flash every time your body does something?" she asked.

"He's just doing it for attention, "Manny informed, turning his head to her. "Just ignore him." He turned carelessly back around

"I'm serious!" Sid said. "My feet are really hot!"

"And my legs hurt," Casy said sarcastically. "We can't all have the things we want Sid; it's like how you can't get a mate and how I seem tobe unable to eat you."

"I could get a mate!" Sid argued.

"And I wish you the best of luck," Casy said. "But if you ever do get a mate, you just be loyal- no, grateful." Just then, there was a rumble from somewhere. The gang stopped in their tracks to listen.

"Please tell me that was your stomach," Manny said to Sid, not really know what to hope for.

"Shhh!" Diego hissed.

"I'm sure it was just thunder…from underground?" Sid suggested meakly. Even he realized that sounded stupid.

"Uh-huh," Casy said, not at all convinced. "And how would thunder get underground, Sid?" Sid turned to her and threw his arms in the air.

"I don't know!" he yelled. "Magic!" Casy rolled her eyes.

"Oh please…" she mumbled.

A jet of fire suddenly burt the ice from behind Cassie and she whiled around. Her eyes widened in fear and she ran back, standing between Many and Diego. Suddenly she found her brain working and she yelled "RUN!"

And the group didn't need to be told twice. The four started off at quickly as a mamoth, sloth, and two sabers could run. As they went, more shots of steam and lava erupted, catching them by surprise and blocking the way. Yet, they managed around it. The area was melthing though, and fast. Soon there was merely an ice bridge. A thin ice bridge that was deplaiting by the second. Below, molten lava surrounded them, and for the first time in her life, Cassie was scared. She gupled, momentarily dazed before she ran to catch up with Deigo, leading the rear.

Just as Many and Sid took a step making them well in front the whole are between the two groups collapsed in. Casy gasped and backed into Deigo. She tooka deep breath and got ready to jump but Diego stopped her.

"You wont make it." He informed. And it was true. Casy's phisique was not one for these types of jumps. "Get on me. It'll be easier."

Casy gave him a look. "I can cross this, thank you very much."

Diego's look matched hers. "Would you like to live or be fried Casy?" she didn't answer. "Yeah, I thought so. Now come on before this melts anymore!" Casy sighed but obliged.

The instant she was on his back Deigo leaped, barely making the jump, but making it none the less. Sid, who had just turned to see why the others were taking so long, saw this.

"I wish I could jump like that!"

"Wish granted!" Manny kicked Sid's side and he flew all the way across, hitting his head on the rock. Manny started to move slowly and Diego urged him on.

"Come on!" he yelled, his voice frantic. "Move faster!"

"Have you noticed the river of lava?"

"Gee, is that why it's hot around here?" Casy asked sarcastically. "I thought it was because SID WAS PASSING GAS AGAIN!!!" Manny glared at her but she paid no mind. "Move, move, move! You're wasting time!" Manny looked down when he heard something and saw that the ice they were standing on was slowly melting. He looked down at the baby, who hugged Manny's trunk. Manny jumped across it, landing safely across, Diego the same. A steam of fire blew up in front of Casy and once it was gone, she quickly jumped to the other side, not completely making it like the others had. She grabbed a hold on the edge, slipping every time as she tried to get a good hold on it.

It was then that Diego turned around and his eyes widened at the sight. He rushed over to Casy and slowly held out his paw to her. Casy looked up at him, fear in her eyes. She reached out her paw towards him and before their paws could touch, the piece that she was clinging onto suddenly broke off. With a scream, Casy began to fall. Diego was quick. He grabbed her paw and with a few struggles, he pulled her up but didn't make it back himself, almost going in the pool of lava with Casy's paw in his. It was then that Diego felt something wrap around him and pull him up to help Casy. When she was fully up and on her feet, she ran towards to where Sid was, who was holding the baby, Manny following her. Diego didn't had time to do the same thing, for the ice beneath him broke and he fell down in the lava. Casy and Manny whirled around while Sid looked up in a flash. Horror filled in Casy's eyes.

"Diego!" Casy yelled, beginning to run towards where he was but was stopped by Manny's trunk. "NO!" Casy breathed heavily as a silenced filled them. Casy actually thought that she had tears in her eyes, and it was possible. She bent her head down and sighed. Was Diego dead? Did he die for her to live? She was about to let a tear escape her eyes when suddenly, she heard a meow shriek. She looked up quickly, finding Diego flying up in the sky. He landed roughly a few feet from her. "Diego!" Casy ran to his aid, as did Sid and Manny. Casy lowered her head to Diego and shook his body with her paw.

"Diego? Can you hear me? Diego?" Casy's eyes quickly searched his body for any cuts or bruises and to her relief, she found none. Slowly, Diego's eyes opened and Casy sighed in relief. "Diego! Are you alright?"

"Sid'sstandingonmytail…" he murmured, Casy unable to understand what he was saying.

"What?" Casy asked, quirking a eyebrow. This time, Diego's answer was cleared but it still held pain in it.

"Sid is standing on my tail…"

Sid immediately looked down and to his surprise, he was standing on Diego's tail. He quickly stepped away and Diego slowly stood up, groaning. Casy stood up with him. She looked at him thoughtfully and curiously.

"Why did you do that?" Casy asked in a almost whisper. "You could have died, trying to save me." Diego looked towards her.

"For two reason," Diego breathed heavily, trying to calm down his heart beat. "One: Young innocent, females should never die. And two…" Diego paused for a moment before giving her a small smile. "That's what friends do. They help each other." Casy was taken off guard by his comment but accepted his smile with a smile.

"Well…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say. She was speechless. "Thanks…"

"I don't know about you guys," Sid began, looking down at the baby and then at the gang. "But we are the weirdest herd ever."

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"We need to get this kid out of the wind!" Manny yelled over the blizzard that was hitting them. They stopped at a half cave, where Sid picked up a small piece of white chalk-like rock and began to draw on the wall.

"How much farther?" Casy asked, looking out to half peak.

"Three miles," Diego answered.

"I'm beat. We'll get there in the morning." It was then that Diego turned towards Sid and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doin'?" he asked.

"I'm putting sloths on the map," Sid said, seemingly finished with the drawing. He pulled away and Casy made a face. It surely was a crappy drawing.

"Yeah," Manny said with a nod, not impressed with the drawing. "Why don't you make it realistic and draw him lying down?"

"And make him rounder," Diego said, grinning. Sid backed away from him and went to Casy for protection. Manny took the rock from Sid and drew a circle around the sloth's body in the drawing.

"Perfect." Casy and Diego said together, smirking.

"Ha ha," Sid said sarcastically, taking the rock from Manny. "I forgot how to laugh." Sid began to color in the circle and as he was doing so, sparks flew from it and onto a couple of rocks and little twigs. Casy, Manny, and Diego stared at it in surprise as Sid looked down at it and then at the rock. "I'm a genius!" He kissed it.

After getting more wood for the fire, Manny, Casy, and Diego laid down by it, Sid standing. "For now on, you shall call me 'Sid, Lord of the Flames". Casy giggled as Sid accidentally put his tail in the fire a little.

"Hey, Lord of the Flame…Your tail is on fire." Diego informed. Sid looked at it and began to run around, screaming. Diego sat up and pulled Sid next to him, where there was some snow there. Instantly, the fire went out and Sid breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Diego and smiled gratefully.

"Thank you!" he said. "For now on, I'll call you 'Diego-"

"Lord of touch me and you're dead," Diego interrupted in a firm and stern voice. Sid gasped and jerked back from him slightly. Diego let out a little laughed and wrapped an arm around Sid's neck, giving him a rub on the head. "I'm just kidding you little knuckle head."

"Hey, love birds." Manny's voice caused Sid and Diego, and Casy to look up. "Look at this." They watched silently and in amazement at the baby. He was walking! He tumbled a few steps but he got the hang of it. He slightly tumbled backwards and Manny put his trunk behind him just in case.

"I don't believe it," Casy whispered, taking a glance at Sid, smiling at him. Sid smiled and looked at Diego, who smiled and looked at Manny, who did the same.

"Come here," Sid urged, holding out his arms to the baby. "Come to Uncle Sid." The baby was heading in that direction when he looked at Diego and turned his steps, going to him instead. Diego's eyes widened in shock at that. "No, no, no, no, no, wrong way."

"No, no, no." Diego shook his head. Casy smirked.

"What's wrong, Diego?" she asked. "Not very affectionate?" Diego just stared at her, making her chuckle. He looked back at the baby when it hugged his leg. Diego didn't say anything; he just kept quiet. Casy smiled at the baby. "Keep practicing, kid." The baby cooed at her and tumbled back to Manny.

"Okay, squirt," Manny said, laying down. "Bed time." Casy chuckled and shook her head at Manny. At least he didn't seem that grumpy than he was when she first met him.

"Look at that push over," Sid said softly. "He's a good guy." Casy nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah…" she said slowly. "He is." Sid yawned, stretching.

"Well, good night," Sid said. He laid down on the ground and began to snore. Diego looked at him, one of his eyebrows raised. Casy laughed softly before placing her head on her paws, looking up at Diego, smiling.

"You aren't so bad either," she mumbled. Diego looked at her and raised an eyebrow in confusion. Where did that came from?

"Huh?" he asked, clueless to what she said. Casy chuckled.

"You saved my life," she whispered. "I can't thank you enough." Diego shrugged, as if it was nothing.

"It was nothing, really," he said. Casy smiled at him.

"But thank you anyway." Casy closed her eyes but Diego stopped her and she looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Tell me the truth, Casy," Diego started, looking her in the eye. "Are you really the gal I think you are?"

"The princess of sabers?" Diego nodded and Casy sighed and picked up her head. Softly and sadly, she spoke. "Yes, Diego. I am her." Diego noticed her sadden expression and tried to cheer her up.

"Come on!" he said, giving her a smile. "You're royalty! You don't have to be sad about that!"

"But I am, Diego," Casy whispered. "You have no idea I had it with my pack, even if I was royalty or not. My father never gave me his attention nor his love. My brother was the main star of the pack." Casy looked away and Diego found himself frowning. "Not once have I ever heard my father say 'I love you, Casy'. I couldn't take it anymore so I left."

"Wow…" Diego breathed, blinking. "That's…rough…" Casy nodded and looked at him.

"The reason why I didn't told you or the others about me is because…well…is because I'm afraid that I'd be kick out of the herd, if you want to call it. I mean, who would want a princess in their herd? They would probably expect you to be spoil and rotten!" Diego chuckled. "Besides…you know how Manny is. I mean, he gets annoyed by Sid easy and just think how he'll act if he finds out I'm a princess." Casy looked down for a moment before looking up at Diego, plead in her eyes. "Please don't tell him."

"I suppose a keeping one secret from Manny won't hurt.

With that, Casy smiled went to sleep. Diego looked outside the cave in guilt for a few moments before laying his head on his paws.

* * *

**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review and remember: You can request for a DiegoxCasy one-shot for my story 'CasyxDiego 100 one-shot'. I won't mind at all! You can either P.M. me or tell me in a review, and I will reply to you.**

**Toodles for now.**

**From your humble authoress,**

**Lzbthbecks.**


	6. One Big Herd

**A/N: A quick update, yes I know. ^^ Don't you just love me? Actually, I am updating this quickly for a reason. Now, I am looking at the stats of 'Ice Age: Deep Heart' and I was near to tears when I saw this. I only have five chapters, make it six now (;) ) and I have twenty-two reviews, nine hundred and seventy nine hits, nine favorites and fourteen alerts. I was blown away and this is only the sixth chapter! :D**

**Okay, first of all, thank you guys so much for reviewing and being dolls! I love you guys so much and without you, I wouldn't of made it this far. And to thank for all you had done and for making my hits this far, I made an official board for this story, where you can roleplay, chat and discuss the story and movies of **_**Ice Age.**_** You can even roleplay as Casy on there, although there are some limits about that. ;) This is my thanks to you and just go onto my profile to go to the forum and hopefully you will join. The forum is for all my reviewers or, as some would say, fans.**

**Again, thank you so much. I am really grateful that so many people love this story and I am just so grateful. :) Hopefully you'll join the forum and that you'll like this chapter**

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"You clean up nice, little fella."

"I think he's starting to look like me," Sid noted aloud. He turned towards Diego, holding the baby up. "Hey, Diego, what do you think?" Diego stopped in his tracks, the others following his suit. He looked over at Sid and straight.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this," he said, his voice sounding unsure. Casy tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Why not?" she questioned.

"If we save him, he'll be a hunter," Diego said. He turned to Sid. "And who do you think he'll hunt?" Sid took the hint and shuddered at the thought. He looked down at the baby and then at Diego, motioning towards the little guy.

"Maybe because we save him, he won't hunt us."

"Yeah, and maybe he'll grow fur and a long skinny neck and call you Mama."

"What's your problem?" Casy asked, growing aggravated at the saber. He had no right to snap at Sid. He was just thinking of a possibility, though it did sounded like Sid need his medication…if he had medication, that is.

"Nothing," Diego said with a sigh. "Come on, I'm freezing my tail off."

With that, Diego began to lead them forward that would take them to Half Peak, the others following him. They were half way through Half Peak when Manny noticed that Diego stopped in his tracks, as if he was frozen or thinking about something.

"Hey Diego!" Manny called out to him. "You frozen back there?" Diego stayed where he was for a moment before he finally made his decision.

"Get down!" he half yelled at them as he ran in the small cave. The gang looked at him in utter confusion, especially Casy. She looked at him rather curiously.

"What?"

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"A the bottom of Half Peak…" Diego took a deep breath. "There's an ambush, waiting for you."

"What?!"

"What do you mean "ambush"?" Casy asked. It only took her a few seconds to figure it out what he meant. And from there on, she glared at the saber. "You set us up!"

"It was my job!" Diego looked down in shame. "I was to get the baby, but then…"

"You brought us home for dinner!"

"That's it!" Sid declared, waving his finger at Diego. "You're out of the herd!"

"I'm sorry!" Diego said. Suddenly, out of fury, Casy lifted her paw up and swiped Diego across the face. He cried out in pain, his head going to the side. Right after Casy did that, she regretted it. Looking down at her paw, she asked herself. Did she just scratched Diego? The male who saved her live and almost died for her yesterday? The one who promised to keep the secret of her being a princess from Manny and the others? Was that how she repays him? By letting her hurt and anger come over her and scratch him? It was certainly not how she was taught. Breaking from her thoughts, Casy looked up and found Diego pinned to the wall by Manny's tusks. Diego looked over at her, revealing three scars across his face. Casy gasped in horror.

"Diego!" she shouted. "I'm so sorry!" Diego shook his head.

"No," he gasped. "I deserve it." He looked at Manny. "You have to trust me."

"Trust you?" Manny pressed his tusks harder against Diego. "How can we trust you?"

"Because I'm your only chance," Diego said, trying to pull Manny's tusks away from him. He took a glance at Casy. "What do you think…princess?" Casy's eyes widened and she let out a short gasp. Manny turned sharply towards her, letting go Diego.

"Princess?" Manny repeated as he took a step closer to Casy. "What is he talking about, Casy?" Instead on answering, Casy looked at Diego, who then stood up and nodded his head. Casy shook her head.

"I actually trusted you," she whispered. "How dare you!"

"Casy...what is tiger talking about?" Manny asked sternly, threatening her with his tusks. Casy let out a sigh.

"I'm the princess of the sabers," Casy finally said after a few moments. Manny backed away from her and Sid's eyes widened. "It was suppose to be a secret." She glared at Diego who shrugged. "Manny, please don't be upset about that at the moment. We need to trust Diego and let him help us." Manny opened his mouth to protest but Casy interrupted him. "Please. My word as a princess, I promise you that Diego is trustful, even after what he did."

It was silent at the moment. Eyes were on him and hope was filling in both Casy and Diego. Casy smiled when Manny nodded.

"Here's the plan..."

* * *

"Surprise!" Casy grinned as three male sabers came in front of them. Manny, who was holding a log, threw it at the three, knocking them off the edge. Diego then appeared, motioning behind him.

"Alright," he said. "Lets pick up Sid on out way." Just as Diego turned, a male saber appeared. Casy gasped when she recognized him. She tried to hide behind Manny to shield her but it did no good. The saber already saw her and stared at her in surprise mixed with shock.

"Casy?!" he exclaimed. Casy cursed under her breath and slowly walked out from Manny, standing up tall, trying to be brave. "My, my. Where have you been? Your father has been looking everywhere for you." Casy scoffed.

"Sure," she said, pretending to believe him. "If he didn't want me to leave then he would've showed me love."

"Love has nothing to do with being in a pack, young Casy," the male said. He chuckled. "You always go by love. Love this, love that. Love, love, love."

"I just go by what I believe in and by my book," Casy said with no emotion. The saber began to circle around her and Diego growled.

"Leave her alone," he said lowly. "She has nothing to do with this, Soto."

"You're right," Soto said. "You're absolutely right, but I need to fight her. I want to see how well she can really fight."

"I'd be happy to," Casy mumbled, walking in front of him. "I've been meaning to ask you how my mother has been. Or…has she left you too?"

The fight started with Casy, who jumped on Soto and began to roll around with him, swatting at him with her claws. Her comment seemed to anger Soto, for he pranced on her and pinned her to the ground. But Casy quickly kicked him off her and tackled him, biting his tail. Soto cried out on pain and pushed her away, him and Casy circling around each other and snarling.

"Actually, she's doing good," Soto said, panting the slightest. He smirked. "At least she still lives with me and hasn't ditched me yet." Casy's eyes burned into him and rammed into him, knocking him over. She jumped on him and did the best snarl she could managed.

"You are a twisted male," she bellowed, baring her teeth. "Twisted and sick. You know what's even worse about you?" Casy simply put her paw at Soto's throat and tightened it there. He began to gag.

"W-What?" he struggled.

"And personally, I've always thought you were a heartless, flea bitten, bag of bones." That surely set Soto off, for he pushed her off him with his legs. And hard. She went flying towards a rock by Diego and hit her head on it, knocked out right away. Diego stared after her, his eyes wide.

"Casy!" he exclaimed. He was suddenly attacked by Soto and the other two sabers, not knowing where the third one went.

It was a long fight. Diego didn't had to fight the other two; they were just his dummy back-ups. The fight was hard for Diego. The swatted, nipped, scratched, and rammed. Diego got most of them but he knew that they would heal. If it wasn't for Manny tossing Soto to the side when Diego was cornered, why…Diego would've been finished! When Soto was tossed aside, he hit a wall and above him were icicles, which jingled when Soto had hit the wall. After a few seconds of jiggling, the icicles fell and stabbed Soto. And now, here were the gang, gathered around an weary Casy.

"Diego…" Casy's whisper was below a whisper but Diego could still hear her. He got closer to her and as did Sid, who looked more frightened than the others. "I'm…I'm sorry for scratching you. I was just so…"

"I know." Diego's ears went back. "We all had out annoyance, frustration, and anger. But hey," he smiled at her. "Lets get you back up and we can get the kid back to it's herd." Sid, who was holding the baby, sat him down and he walked towards Casy, where he stumbled upon her. Casy smiled.

"Go without me," Casy said. "I don't think I can continue on." Sid shook his head as he knelled by Casy, who was slowly going out again.

"No, no, no, no!" Sid exclaimed. "You can't give up now! Please Casy!"

Casy groaned as she set her head down...and she was gone.

Manny sighed as the baby disappeared with his father. Sid was still waving goodbye to the baby, even if they were out of sight. Was Casy truly gone? He knew Diego was more over upset; the sweet female they had known and become good friends with was gone.

"Come on, Sid," Manny said, starting to turn around. "Let's head South." Just as he was going to start walking, but stopped. Someone was climbing up on the slope and when the figured appeared, Manny nearly grinned.

"Bye bye!" Sid was saying. "Bye...bye..." Diego said nothing but simply did peek-a-boo.

"Bye bye..."

"Give it up, Sid," a female voice said behind them. "You know humans can't talk." Sid halted what he was doing and whirled around, a grin appearing on his face.

"Casy?!" Sid exclaimed. He began to run towards her. "You're okay!"

"As far as I can see, I'm-" Casy was interrupted when Sid jumped on her and knocked her to the ground. Sid hit her in the shoulder and she snarled.

"Yeep!" Sid screeched. Casy laughed and pushed him.

"I'm just kidding!" She winked. Diego was just as surprised but he said nothing.

"Glad you're okay, Casy," Manny said, smiling. Casy smiled back.

"Thanks."

"But how-?" Diego was speechless. "You were dead."

"You'll have to try harder to get rid of me," was all Casy said with a grin and wink.

"So, who's ready to migrate?" Sid asked excitedly, whirling around in a circle to look at everyone. Casy chuckled.

"As long as you don't tell us any gross stories."

"Not even how I turn brown when the fungus in my fur dries?"

"Nope."

"Fair enough."

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**A/N: So, how did you like it? Remember, the link to the forum is on my profile and thank you all for reviewing and getting me this far. Hopefully that I can make Casy quite popular. Maybe even the directors of **_**Ice Age**_** will be interested. XD Hahaha, long shot but hey, it could happened. Please review and part two should be up next week or so.**

**From your humble and grateful authoress,**

**Lzbthbecks**.


	7. Three Years Later And Sid's Camp

**A/N: Oh, I am still so surprised at you guys. XD Over a thousand hits, a forum as a thanks will not do! Nope! How about three chapters in one day? ;) Yes, a top of that with the forum; that seems good. I'm spoiling you guys rotten but I can't help it! Let me spoil away! Hehehe. Anyway...would you believe, when I was first posting this story, that I actually finished it in total of two days? It broke my record of writing a story within a week, that's for sure!**

**Well, I hope you'll like this chapter.**

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_Three years later... _

Diego sighed as he sat on the rock. It looked out the water park that Sid was currently "working" at. If you called it work. Diego thought it was meaningless to watch young ones at an area that had ice melt occasionally...especially if it had water. Sid tells him that he's too jumpy around water and that he needs to relax. Diego could never relax around water. He hated it oh so much, which was why he chooses to sit on a rock at the very top of an ice cliff. It was below the water but behind the ice cliff was ice steps, and that's how he would get down. Diego often goes to the ice cliff because he wantsome time to himself. Though Sid and Manny knew about the spot, they surprisingly didn't went to it when Diego was at it. But Casy did. You would think that Diego would mind that Casy would do it; but he really doesn't. Throughout the three years of getting to know her, he found himself have some sort...attraction to her but he never admit it to anyone, even though Sid would often tease him and Casy about. If Sid teased them a little too much, Diego would chase him around until he peed himself...and Diego learned his lesson when he actually did.

Lost in his own thoughts, Diego didn't even heard Casy climbing the ice steps and jumping up behind him. She walked by his side and sat by him.

"Hello," she greeted. Diego jumped, startled, and stared at her. Casy grinned. "Surprised ya, huh?" Diego only smiled and shook his head, going back to what he was looking at, Casy following the suit.

"Where have you been this morning?" Casy asked after a few moments of silence. "I haven't seen you all day." Diego chuckled.

"I've been here," he told her. "I just wanted to have time for myself, you know?" Casy nodded and a trouble expression came across her face.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, earning a confused look from Diego. "Am I interrupting you?" Diego shook his head. "Are you sure?" Diego nodded. "I'm not annoying you or frustrating you, or making you want to pull at your ears or-"

"Casy," Diego said, getting her to stop but she continued on. "Casy, Casy! It's fine, really. You don't have to ramble on like Sid, you know." He winked and Casy looked away in embarrassment.

"Um... sorry about that," she said nervously, coughing to cover it up. "It's just...I know how you can be when you get grumpy." She chuckled.

"And that's because Sid keeps on bugging me." Diego sighed. "Do you honestly think that I care if he wants to store some blueberry's with us?"

"Knowing you..." Casy trailed off. She then giggled as she continued. "Nope."

"Exactly."

"But can you blame him?" Casy asked. "I mean, he is a sloth. Don't sloth's like to have some food to themselves?" Diego thought about this for a moment before he nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," he agreed. It was then silent for a moment before Casy opened her mouth to say something but she closed it when she spotted Sid, being beaten up by the animals children. Casy sighed, stood up, turned around, and began to walk down the steps.

"Come on," she said. "Let's get Manny. Who knows what that sloth is up to now."

* * *

In a place that was filled with ice and water, animal children played in the water park. They could be seen going down a slide, or jumping into the water. They were all having fun. It was a nice day and swimming was perfect for the kids, and even some of the parents. Although some were too busy and simply left their kids at the daycare center.

The adults were in the big part of the water park, while their children were in the daycare center to have time by their selves. Not far from the pool, an animal and his wife were on a little ice cliff. The husband was sitting, fanning himself, while his wife just lay down.

"Boy! This global warming is killing me!" he said.

"This is too hot," the wife complained. "And the ice is too cold." The husband rolled his eyes and put his chin in his paw, clearly aggravated. "What will it take to make you happy?" Then the part of the ice his wife was laying on broke and she fell in the water with a scream. The husband then shifted so he was comfortable again.

"This, I like!" he said, smiling, happily grinning.

_At the daycare center... _

A little kid who looked like a turtle went down the slide and into the water. He resurfaced and tried to climb out but two kids ran past him and he fell back in the water.

Not far away, another kid that looked to be part beaver and was making something with rocks and his tail. There were some sticks randomly sticking out on the thing, but he was having fun. And it was probably better than dealing with the councilor in charge of daycare center.

Two kids then ran over his mud and stick creation, messing it all up. The beaver sat down on the ground, crying. Sid, the councilor of the daycare center, saw this and blew his whistle, walking towards the crying child.

"No running, James!" he scolded one of the offenders, putting his fists on his hips. A female sloth was walking along when she saw this and she looked at Sid's body. He looked very buff and strong standing behind the sheet of ice that blocked her view. She let out an amused sound and gave him a flirtatious look. Then an ant eater came up to Sid.

"Make me, sloth!" he barked. He then ran off, obviously not planning on listening to Sid. The councilor was a wimp, or at least that's what the other kids said.

"It's make me, sir!" Sid said walking out from behind the ice, and his actual body was revealed. He looked at the female sloth. "It's all about respect." He said to her with a wink, but the female sloth looked disgusted.

"Eww!" she said and then walked off. Then one kid was helping another do a flip into the water and Sid was back to his futile work.

"Jared, you just ate! Wait an hour!" He turned towards his left. "Hector! No, no! You can't pee pee there! Eh. Okay, there is fine." He slightly turned towards his right and placed his hands on his hips. "Ashley, stop picking your- Ah!"

Sid was suddenly picked up in the air. The kids had tied his feet up and used a nearby log as leverage for lifting Sid into the air to hang upside down. One of the kids yelled, "Piñata!" and the other kids cheered that were around Sid, gathering in close for the fun.

One of the kids had a stick in his hand. It was the beaver and he was about to hit Sid when he stopped him.

"Stop!" Sid yelled. The kids stopped cheering. He then thought of an idea. A good idea that would stop him from being hit. "You're supposed to wear blind folds."

"Okay," the beaver said simply, putting a hand over his eyes, although letting his right eye free to see. Okay... maybe that wasn't a good idea. He then hit Sid with it and the ant eater took the stick away from the beaver.

"Hey! It's my turn to hit the sloth!" he said. The beaver grabbed the branch and pulled it back, arguing.

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

They argued and pulled the stick back and forth, and Sid got hit with every change of direction. Finally, the beaver kid pulled really hard making Sid swing high and right back down where the beaver hit him right in the face. Sid flew away the log, screaming.

The kids cheered and ran towards Sid. "Hey," the beaver said, disappointed. He poked Sid with the stick. "You didn't had any candy in you."

"Let's bury him!" someone else suggested

The kids cheered and quickly dug up a hole and stuck Sid in it. The beaver then jumped up and down on Sid's head, forcing him down until he was almost completely buried. The beaver then noticed something and stood up quickly, putting his arms behind his back and trying to look innocent.

"Hey, hey, whoa!" someone said. Manny, Diego, and Casy then appeared. "Who said you kids could torture the sloth?"

"Manny, don't squash their creativity," the she-saber said. Sid frowned slightly at Casy, who chuckled. Sid then popped his head out of the ground, happy to see the three. Or, at least the other two.

"Hey, Manny! Diego! My bad mammal jammmals!" There was a certain look in Sid's eyes and the three knew it all too well. It was the "Help me" look. It had last been seen the day before when he managed to get Casy mad at him.

_Yesterday... _

Sid found Casy lying down on ice by the water park. She seemed to be taking her usual nap. Diego did it the same thing, saying he needed his beauty rest. Casy always assured him that he didn't need a beauty rest so much as an 'issue with Sid' rest. Sid always seemed to get in trouble with Diego the most of any of them. Sid shook his head and sat by Casy.

"Hello, Sid," she said. Sid looked at Casy and saw that her eyes were still closed and he raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know it was me?" Sid asked. Casy opened her eyes and stood up, stretching.

"I could smell you." Casy wrinkled her nose and looked at Sid, giving him a look. "Seriously, do you ever bathe?"

"I bathe!"

"Oh really? When was your last bath?"

"Well, let's see here," Sid then began to count on his fingers and Casy sighed, rolling her eyes. Sid didn't answer until a few moments later. "About three months ago!" Casy made a disgusted noise and moved a few steps away from Sid. "What? He asked. "I don't smell that bad, do I?"

"If you didn't, why else would I be able to smell you from a mile away? Sure my sense of smell is good, but not that good." Sid scoffed, waving a hand.

"Nah, your sense of smell is just better than you think!" Sid said. He turned towards the water. "If you want me to take a bath, then I'll do so." He got in the position in of jumping in the water and Casy tried to stop him. "What?" Sid asked, turning towards Casy. "You were just complaining about me stinking. I'll take a bath."

"No, Sid. That's not really-" But Sid had already jumped in, splashing Casy. Sid resurfaced and he noticed Casy in a kind of trace. He got confused and then Casy shook her head. She looked at Sid and growled.

"Sid..."

"What?" He was even more confused when Casy pounced onto a floating piece of ice that was near him. "Uh oh..." Casy jumped after him and Sid screamed, swimming off and with Casy following him jumping from one ice flow to another.

Manny used his trunk to grab Sid and pull him out of the hole. He then sat him down. "Look, I started my own camp," Sid said. He then smiled as he spoke, seemingly proud of himself. "Campo del Sid. It means Camp of Sid." Casy raised an eyebrow and her face scrunched up in confusion but then giggled at what Diego said.

"Congratulations," he said. "You're now an idiot in two languages."

"Shh!" Sid said, leaning towards Diego. "Not in front of the K-I-D-Z!" Casy and Diego looked at each other and then at Sid. Casy raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Diego was right. Sid wasn't just a sloth. He was an idiot sloth. "These little guys love me, right Billy?"

"Don't make me eat you!" Billy said in obvious disagreement.

Casy chuckled and the kids laughed. She glanced at Diego to find him amused himself. "Ah, kids. That's why they're called kids."

"I told you Sid," Casy started. "You're not certified to run a camp." Manny nodded, seemly agreeing with her. Sid looked at Diego, hopeful that one of his buddies in the herd would believe in him but he wasn't surprised that Diego nodded too.

Sid turned towards Casy, seemingly cheerful, although Casy knew that Sid was hurt that his own friends didn't believe in him and she put her ears back, feeling a bit guilty.

"Oh since when do I have to be certified to do child care?" Sid asked. None of them answered and Sid continued while a kid tied his feet together. Sid didn't even notice it. "Besides, these kids look up to me. I'm their role model to them." When the kid tied the rope, he then pushed Sid, who fell to the ground, his face facing Casy, Diego and Manny.

"I can see that," Casy said, smirking. Sid frowned and rolled of his stomach.

"You guys never think I can do anything. I am an equal member of this herd." He pulled himself up and looked from Manny to Diego. "I made this herd so you need to start treating me with some respect."

Sid gave the three one last look before he hopped off. Manny, Casy, and Diego looked after Sid as he hopped away.

"Come on, Sid!"

"Sid, we were just kiddin'." Both the mammoth and saber looked guilty. Diego looked at Manny and then Casy and was shocked to see her ears back. Casy then noticed Diego looking and she then quickly un-did her ears, and stood straight, trying to look tough.

"Nice try but I saw that," Diego smirked and Casy growled, getting down low on the ground, ready to pounce on Diego.

"Hey!" Casy stopped in mid growl and she stood up, joining Manny and Diego in looking at the kid who'd spoken. "Let's play pin the tail on the mammoth and saber! YEAH!!" The kids cheered and the beaver held up the stick in the air, a lazy eye showing in his eye and showing his beaver teeth. The kids then ran towards them. Manny, Casy, and Diego then looked in the direction where Sid had went.

"SID!!"

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please do review and also:**

**I've noticed that there is a Ice Age roleplay forum on here. Now, this is just my opinion, it doesn't matter but...I personally think that these forums on this website are for discussion only and not roleplaying. If you want to roleplay, then you can go to proboards and make your own forum; it's not that hard. I've done it a dozen of times and it only took two days for me to set up the _Deep Heart_ forum fully before allowing the link up. To me, roleplaying on this website is a bit disrespectful; I think of it like that. Just thought I would let you guys know what I thought so you could probably think about it too.**

**~Lzbthbecks**


	8. Sid, The Idiot Sloth

"I can do stuff!" Sid grunted as he fell to the ground when he tried to get the rope off his feet. He then struggled to take it off as he tried to get up. "Stupid respect." He used his teeth to cut the rope and then he pulled it off, but it got stuck on his tail. He pulled it off his tail and threw it to the ground angrily as he walked off. "I'll show 'em."

* * *

"And so, in the end, the little burro reached his mommy, and they lived happily ever after."

The kids cheered at Manny's story. They were still at the daycare center but they had found somewhere else to sit for the story. Manny was standing by a rock, which Diego was laying on, his paws on each other and in front of him. In front of the rock was Casy, who was laying on the ground, her chin on her paws and her eyes on the kids.

"Good job," Diego said, smiling a bit. Manny had kept the kids ocupied and nonviolent for quite a long time, a feat he thought impossible. He looked at Casy to see if she was looking at Manny and giving him a smile, her usual thanks. Never had she said thank you to anyone before. She always said her smile was her thank you. Although Sid, Manny, and even Diego wouldn't mind hearing her say the actual words for once. But when Sid had mentioned it, she'd just shrugged.

When Diego looked at Casy, she wasn't even looking at Manny. Her eyes scanned the children. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and he quickly looked away. Casy chuckled to herself and then looked back at the kids.

"Question," the beaver kid said, his hand in the air. Casy lifted her head and the other two looked at him. "Why does he go home? Why doesn't he stay with the rabbits?"

"A good question," Casy agreed. The beaver looked at her expectantly and she then realized he was asking her. Casy turned her head towards Manny. "Why doesn't he stay with the rabbits, Manny?

Manny gave her a look and Casy rested her head on her paws again, pleased with herself. She nodded her head at him, telling him to go on and Manny looked at the beaver. His eyes were on him, as were the other kids.

"Because..." Manny thought for a moment. He was struggling and he was struggling bad. "Because... uh... well..." Casy lifted her head and looked at Manny, knowing all too well how easy it was to mess him up. Diego looked at him as well and then looked at Casy.

"He's breaking!" Diego whispered. "Help him out!"

"What? How am I supposed to help him? I'm not that imaginative!" Casy whispered back.

"Oh really?" Diego questioned. "Wasn't it yesterday that you were imagining Sid as an Ox while you were chasing him? Besides you're the one who put Manny in that situation!" Diego smirked as Casy tried to say something back but couldn't think of anything witty enough. She growled and then got up, hopping up on Manny's back. She then grabbed a hold of his ear and whispered something into it.

"Because he wanted to be with his family," Manny finally answered. He then got a look on his face and looked at Casy. "What?!" She smiled sheepishly. "That has to be the stupidest idea I have ever heard!"

A baby bird then landed on one of the Manny's tusk. "I think he should be with the girl burro. That would make it a burro love story."

"Okay, well, when you tell your burro story, that'll do," Manny said, bringing his trunk to the baby bird and pulling her off of his tusk and setting he onto the ground.

"Burro is a demeaning name," An antelope-like kid said. "Technically, it's called an butt."

"Fine," Manny said as Casy jumped off his back and next to the rock, sitting down once again. "The butt boy went home to its butt mother." The kids burst out laughing and Casy giggled herself, covering her mouth with her paw. Manny glared at her.

"Heh, sorry," she said. Manny turned towards the kids.

"See? That's why I called it a burro!" The kids laughed again and this time even Diego laughed. Manny gave him a look and he stopped, looking away.

"Could the burro have a braising problem?" one of the kids asked. "That would make him more relatable."

"Boring!"

"It's not believable."

"Do burros eat their young?"

"Sometimes I throw up."

Casy's face twisted into a disgusted expression and she turned her head to look at Diego, who looked at her as well. He just shrugged.

"They lived happily ever after," Manny said, enphisising each word carefully. "One big, happy family. That's the way it's supposed to be."

"Then where's your big, happy family?" the bird asked.

A sadden expression then appeared on Manny's face. Diego looked at Casy, who looked back at him and then down at her paws, her ears going back. Diego then stood up on the rock and got in a pouncing position.

"And then the hungry tiger ate the pesky little kids."

Diego roared slightly, jumping off the rock and in front of the kids. The kids screamed and ran off. Manny and Casy then begin to walk off. Diego asked Manny if he was okay. Manny stopped walking and looked at Diego.

"Sure, why not?"

"I just thought you-"

"Story time's over," Manny interrupted, obviously not wanting to think about it. Casy's ears went back and stopped in her tracks. She turned her head to Diego and gave him a concerned look. Diego returned it, watching the she-saber look up at Manny.

"Manny..." Casy started softly, getting Manny's attention. His face softened. It always fascinated Diego how Casy could calm anyone down with just the soft tone of her voice. "No matter what happens, whatever you say and do, Diego, Sid and I...we're your family." Manny stared at her, blinking his eyes, touched by her small speech. "And we always will."

"Yeah," Diego piped up, knowing his speech skills were nothing like Casy's. "We're a heard, Manny. A family." Diego gave him a smile, as did the female saber. Manny smiled at both at them. Unfortunately, for them, their moment was ruined by two children that ran past them, telling those in front of them to get out of the way.

"Hey, whoa!" Manny said, causing the kids to stop running.

"Where's everybody going?" Diego asked, annoyance hinting in his features

"Flood!" one of the kids said.

Casy looked at them, confused. "What?"

"Fast Tony!" the other kid said. "He said there's a flood!" Casy, Diego, and Manny looked at each other and the kids ran off. Manny sighed.

Many sighed knowingly. "Come on, you two, let's go see what he's chanting about," he said, beginning to walk in the direction of the Eviscerator. Casy and Diego followed him, though slowly.

"What do you thing Mr. Sell Off is saying?" Casy asked Diego as they walked side by side.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "But whatever it is he's scaring the little ones."

---

"What's this talk about a flood?" Manny asked the Amarillo. Fast Tony laughed and leaned closer to Manny, his hand at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm trying to make a living here, pal."

Tony went in his shell to free himself from Manny's grasp and then popped back out again in order to land safely on a piece of ice. He then told about his forecast, but Manny didn't believe him.

"Don't listen to him," Manny said. "Fast Tony would sell his own mother for a grape." Tony ran up to him, leaning towards Manny and putting his hand at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you making an offer?" he asked. He looked at the others and then got in a dramatic pose. "I mean, no! I would not."

"But haven't you heard?" one of them asked. "The ice is melting."

"You see this ground? It's covered in ice," Manny said. "A thousand years ago, it was covered in ice, and a thousand years from now, it will still be ice."

"Say, buddy," an ant-eater said. "Not to cast a spell on your survival instincts but haven't mammoths gone extinct?"

Many recoiled, but quickly regained his demeanor. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you being the last of your kind."

"Ahhh... your breath smells like ants," Manny said.

The ant-eater checked his breath and shuddered, showing that it was indeed nasty. "Be that as it may, when was the last time you saw another mammoth?" He continued. Manny ignored him.

"Don't listen to him, Manny," Casy said. "You know it's not true'

Many tried to reason. "Mammoths can't go instinct. They're the biggest things out here."

"What about the dinosaurs?" a bird asked.

"The dinosaurs got cocky," Manny answered. "Thus-"

"Look!" one of the animals said, looking up at the Eviscerator. "Some idiot is going down the Eviscerator!"

"Please tell me that's not our idiot," Manny muttered to himself. He looked up at the Eviscerator and there was Sid. Manny sighed; he wasn't too surprised. When was Sid _not _an idiot?

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**A/N: You likey? Please review. ^^**


	9. A New Journey

**A/N: Okee dokee. Last chapter for today and then you'll have to wait a week until the next update. *Dramatic music* The horror!**

* * *

"Okay! I'm gonna jump on the count of three," Sid said, getter closer to the edge. "1... 2..." He got a little closer to the edge very slowly. He didn't want to do this, but he wanted to prove that he deserved some respect.

"Sid, don't move a muscle!" Manny called to him. "We're coming up." Just then, the crowd started to chant, "Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!" Diego even pitched in. Manny and Casy glared at him and he stopped.

"Sorry..."

"You think it's funny?" Casy asked. "He could get hurt!"

"Please Casy," Manny said sighing, rubbing his head with his trunk. "Don't give me any good ideas." Casy's jaw dropped and she looked at him in surprise.

"Manny!" Casy exclaimed. "Sid may be annoying and he may get on our nerves, but he is our friend and-"

"I'm only kidding!" Manny interrupted. "Do you have to take everything so seriously?"

"Do you have to be so mean to Sid all the time?" Casy shot back. Manny gave her a look and sighed, looking up at where Sid was.

"Excuse us?" Diego interrupted, having Casy look at him. " 'Do you have to be so mean to Sid all the time?' What about you?" Casy raised an eyebrow.

"What about me?" she asked.

"You're mean to Sid sometimes too!" Casy looked at him in surprise but it turned into a glare.

"I do not!" she protested.

"Do to!"

"Come on, Diego," Casy said, rolling her eyes. "Like I would be mean to Sid."

"I can name a few times," Diego said, a smirk on his lips.

"I can't be that bad," Casy said, fully intending on trying to make the saber feel guilty. "For most of the time, you're mean to Sid. Chasing him around, threatening him, growling at him. Honestly, it's like you don't care about anyone in the herd!"

So you think... Diego thought to himself.

"I do!" Diego gave her a look.

"Oh yeah? Well-"

"Well what?" Diego mimicked. "You always say that. Well, well, well, well! Well, you know what? It can get annoying!"

"Ha!" Casy laughed. "And you aren't?"

"I'm perfectly normal," Diego said quite cocky. "It's you that's the problem."

"Well-"

"There you go again! Why don't take your 'Well's' and put them up your-"

"Knock it off!" Manny yelled. He let out a sigh and Casy and Diego stopped their bickering. "Come on, we have to go up there. But how..."

"Follow me," Casy said. She then took off to the left of the crowd, and at her right was a path to lead up to where Sid was standing. Manny and Diego looked at each other for a moment before Manny smiled.

"I told you she would be useful," Manny said, giving Diego a smirk. Diego rolled his eyes and went up the path, as did Manny. When they got to the top, Casy was waiting for them. She noticed them and motioned for them to come closer, nodding in Sid's direction. The sloth was saying something and Casy strained her ears so she could hear. "Two and three one thousand..." Casy rolled her eyes.

"It's so obvious he doesn't want to jump. So why's he going to?" she asked.

"Because he wants respect from us," Manny answered. "He thinks if he jumps off, we'll respect him."

"Maybe we should respect him, Manny," Casy said. "I mean, we don't really give him that."

"Casy, he's testing us," Manny said. "Sure, he wants respect but do you really think he'll do this?"

"Sid was always the one to do stupid things like this, Manny," Diego butted in. "Think about it. Who kicked me in the butt when those rhino's were going after him when we were taking the baby back? Who took the baby so girls would like him? It's exactly like Sid to do this."

"Two and four one thousand," Sid said. That caught Casy's attention and she walked closer towards him.

"Sid! What are you doing? Get down from there!" Casy said. Sid turned towards them and Casy saw a bit of want in his eyes. She knew that was the want of respect and she narrowed her eyes but kept an eye on him.

"No way!" Sid said. "I'm gonna be the first one to jump off the Evistarator and you guys are gonna have to show me some respect."

"If you jump off this thing, the only thing you'll get is respect of the dead," Manny said.

"Come on, Manny," Diego said, shaking his head. "He's not that stupid." To prove him wrong, Sid turned towards the edge and wiggled himself. "But I've been wrong before." Just as Sid jumped off, Manny caught him and Casy glanced at Diego.

"Oh really?" she asked. "When did you first notice that happening?" Diego growled and Casy closed her eyes, smiling. She heard Sid screaming and opened her eyes, finding him sliding towards her and Diego behind Manny. "Hey, watch it!" she yelled but they hit her and Diego, who went a few feet away from them, landing on ice.

Casy managed to stay on the top of the pile, but Sid wasn't as lucky and got squashed under Manny.

"I... can't... breathe..." Sid said, his finger twitching. He tried to get out from Manny as Casy got off Manny's back. Sid was halfway out when he said,

"I think I just coughed up my spleen."

Casy chuckled as she helped him. "Ah, you look fine, Sid."

"Hey, he could've killed me!" Sid exclaimed, waving his arms.

"But he didn't."

Just then, Diego yelled and he jumped on Manny's trunk, his claws digging into the mammoth's trunk. Sid turned towards them and Casy raised an eyebrow. What made the saber as scared and breathless as if he'd been running?

"Uh... Diego?" Manny said as he patted Diego's back with his trunk. "Retract the claws please." Diego then realized he was clinging on Manny, and probably hurting his friend. He sheepishly let go and then climbed down. Sid laughed a little as Diego walked towards him and Casy.

"Sid, I wouldn't..." Casy trailed off, guessing what Sid was about to do.

"I'm not gonna do anything." Casy gave him a skeptical look but Sid just waved it off.

"If I didn't know you better Diego, I would say you were afraid of the water," Sid said teasing to the saber. He started to laugh and Diego growled and grabbed Sid's throat. Casy shook her head. Why couldn't Sid just be quiet?

"Okay, okay," Sid said weakly as he was being choked. "It's a good thing I know you better." Diego let go and Sid fell to the ground, gasping for air. Casy looked down at him.

"I told you so," she scowled.

"You can be wrong at times."

"And you thought I was wrong this time?" Casy asked, giving Sid a disbelieving look. "When it comes to Diego being annoyed by you, I'm never wrong." Sid got up and dusted himself.

"So... have I earned my respect from you guys?" Casy open her mouth to say something but Diego interrupted.

"You'll earn it when you've done something useful."

"Guys..." Manny's voice caused the three to look at him. He paused for a moment and the three walked where Manny was standing on the other side of the Eviscerator. "Fast Tony was right. Everything is melting."

In front of them was ice. But that ice was small, broken and floating in a sea of melted water. There were some ice bergs in the middle of the dam lake but they were small. Casy and Diego looked at each other, worried looks on their faces. They looked back at the water and Casy spoke.

"It is all gonna flood," she whispered. She then began to walk off and towards the water park. "We have to tell the others." Manny followed her and Sid and Diego stayed there for a few seconds.

"Hmm..." Sid said. "Maybe we can rapidly revolve into water creatures." Diego frowned and turned around to follow Manny and Casy.

"That's genius, Sid," Diego said semi-sarcastically Sid turned around and pointed a finger in the air, a sly look on his face.

"Call me Squid," he said, following the others.

"Jeez, this whole piece is a place a junk," Sid said, taking a little piece of ice and throwing it behind him. "I can't believe I live here!" He jumped a couple of times and there was the sound of cracking. Manny, Casy, and Diego stopped walking, looked down at the ground and then at Sid, little gasps coming from all three.

"What?" Sid asked. There was another cracking noise and part of the ice they were walking on broke. Manny, Casy, Sid, and Diego then went down the Eviscerator, with Diego on Manny's back, his paws on his shoulders, Casy on Diego's back, her paws clung in his shoulders and Sid holding on one of Casy's ears.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Sid cried.

"Well, you wanted respect from us!" Casy yelled. "It was your own idea."

"Yeah, but you could've stopped me from going up there!"

"But you were upset with us and those kids were going to attack Manny!"

"They're innocent!"

"Sid!" Diego barked. "They're not innocent. Do you even pay attention to the stuff they do to you?" Sid didn't say anything. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

When they got to the bottom, they landed by where Tony was still speaking. He'd gone into his shell when they fell. He now poked his head out slightly and looked at Manny before he got up again.

"You see? This is what exactly I'm talking about!" He pointed towards Manny, Casy, Diego, and Sid.

"Go suck air through a reed."

The animal said that made others laugh and the armadillo frowned, his shoulders slumping. Manny got up and Diego, Casy, and Sid got off of him. "You gotta listen to him. He's right about the flood."

"I am?" Tony asked, a little surprised but happy that he was right about something. "I mean, yes, I am."

"Wait a minute..." someone said. "You said that there is no flood. Why should we listen to you?"

"Because we saw what's up there," Manny answered. "The dam's gonna break. The valley's gonna flood." But the others just laughed at him...at least until someone spoke from a nearby tree. It was a vulture.

"Flood's real, alright," he said. Eyes turned to him and he continued. "Look around. You're in a bowl. Bowl's gonna fill up; ain't no way out."

"Oh my..."

"Unless..." The vulture continued. "You can make it to the end of the valley. There's a boat."

"A boat?" Casy raised her eyebrow.

"A boat," the vulture repeated. "But there is some good news, though." The vulture paused, all listening intently and he then continued. "The more of you die, the better I eat." Casy gasped a little and got behind Diego, a bit frightened. Sid got behind Casy and grabbed her tail, using it to wipe the sweat from his brow.

The vulture then flew off and Sid watched him leave, obviously grossed out by the bird.

"He must've been pleasant to have in class," Sid said. Casy look at Sid and shook her head, smiling. Just then, there was a cracking noise and two pieces of the ice cliff broke off, falling to the bottom of the cliff below. They hit the slide and it fell down towards a young beaver that was making something. His father ran towards the beaver and grabbed him, running off. The ice then hit it and the father looked up at the ice cliff and said,

"Darn!"

"Alright," Manny said. "You heard the vulture. Let's move out."

The animals then began to walk off, chattering. Diego came up beside Manny and looked at him. "Manny... do you really think there's a boat?"

"I don't know. But this valley is gonna be a mile underwater," Manny answered. Casy began to follow the others and Sid followed her. Manny nodded and he and Diego began to join the crowd but Manny paused for a moment. He looked at an ice berg that wasn't far from him for a few moments before Diego broke him away from his thoughts.

"Manny! Let's go!"

Manny turned around and walked off, not knowing that inside that ice berg was a creature.

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review and for my CasyxDiego oneshot story...I might take it down, seeing as I'm not getting enough requests. XD Come on guys! Request, request! You know you waaaaant to. ;)**


	10. Ellie, Crash, And Eddie

**A/N: I couldn't stay away from you guys.**

**O.o!!!! I HAD NOT EXPECTED TO GET SO MANY REVIEWS! :D I have almost fourty and last time it was in the twenties! XD Putting up three chapters was a good idea then. Hehehehe. One of the reviewers really caught my attention, it was the name:**

**CASY+DIEGO=LOVE**

**My guess is that they reeeeeally love Casy and Diego. ^^ Good then! That was the idea. For those who don't know, Deep Heart has it's own forum and now it's official blog where the big updates will be put and much more, so go on to my profile and look for the links.**

**Thank you for who have reviewed! Oh, and also, I'm holding a contest. Here are the lists of what you can do:**

**Write a one-shot of CasyxDiego**

**Draw Casy and or Diego**

**The winner gets either a chance of spending the day with me but I will have to know if you are really my age or, you can download skype and we can do webcam and microphone. Think of it like getting to know the author. :)**

**Let me know if you write a one-shot and send me a link to the drawing if you do the contest.**

* * *

"Manny! Manny!" Sid said as he walked up to Manny, the fur around his mouth stained blue from the blueberries he'd been eating and was still holding in his hand. "I heard you were going extinct." Sid put a few blueberries in his mouth and was licking his fingers when Casy and Diego walked up to him.

"Hey, if you ever master hygiene, try working on sensitivity," Casy told him.

"I'm not going extinct!" An ant eater and his kids were walking by Manny when he had them stop.

"Look kids, the last mammoth," he said. His kids let out a "Wooow" and then they walked off once again. Manny looked at Sid, who was smiling in victory as if he'd won something.

"See?"

Casy sighed and hit Sid on the head with her paw. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Sid, just shut up," Diego said, aggravated.

"What did I say?" He asked. Casy rolled her eyes and turned towards Diego.

"You hold him down and I gag him?" Diego nodded and they began to go after him but Manny stopped them.

"Whoa, hold it, you two," Manny said. "Save the gag thing for later. We need to get going."

"Aww, can't we just chase him a bit?" Casy whined. Manny gave her a look and she put her ears back in defeat. "Fine." Manny nodded towards the crowd and she and Diego began to walk with the other animals once more, Manny and Sid behind them.

A little while later, Sid started to sing and it began to aggravate the three, but mostly Manny as he was the subject of most of the songs.

"Someday, yeah," Sid began. "When you gone instinct; when you make a stink-"

"Shut up, Sid."

"Okay," Sid said simply, obviously not planning on staying silent for long.

_Later that night... _

"Stop! Hey, hey! What's that sound? All the mammoths are in the grooound!" Sid sang. Casy looked over her shoulder and gave Sid a look.

"Stop singing, Sid." she said wearily.

"Thank you, Casy," Manny said, somewhat relieved. Casy nodded and turned her head back around.

"How much more will we have to hear Sid's singing?" Casy whispered. Diego chuckled.

"I don't know but the way Manny is getting aggravated with Sid, I'd say maybe one more song before he cracks," Diego said.

"Sid should be more careful around Manny and the mammoths," Casy said. "I mean, I feel sorry for Manny. Both about thinking he might be the last mammoth on top of Sid's singing."

"Heh. If I was the last saber and Sid was singing a song about it, I wouldn't hesitate to go after him."

"You mean like eating him?"

"I don't eat junk food."

"I heard that!" Sid yelled from behind and Casy giggled.

* * *

"Where did you get that?" Sid pointed towards the cuts that were on the side of Casy's arm. The gang were laying down, telling stories and such, though Manny was already asleep. Casy looked down at her arm and slowly turned her head away, closing her eyes. Diego glared at Sid, who shrunk back a little. "Sorry..."

"No," Casy said, shaking her head. She let out a sigh and turned her head towards Sid and Diego. "It's fine."

"Did you get those from fighting that saber?" Sid asked. He looked thoughtful for a moment, tapping his chin. "Now what was his name...? Toto?" Casy chuckled and Sid shook his head. "No. Froto? Frodo? Doto? Moto? Coto? Um..." Diego rolled his eyes.

"Soto, Sid," Diego corrected.

"Right!" Sid beamed. He turned to Casy, who shook her head. "Well, how did you get them?" He was then hit on the head and cried out, rubbing it. "That's all I want to know! Sheesh."

"Leave her alone, Sid," Diego said simply. Casy smiled gratefully at him and laid her head on her paws.

"But I want to know!" Sid whined. Casy looked over him.

"Alright." She nodded. "I will." Sid grinned. "When Diego gives birth to a cub." Sid frowned as Casy smirked and laid her head on her paws. All Diego did was growl.

"When will that be?" Diego didn't answer; he just rolled his eyes. "Wait...is that even possible?"

_The next day... _

It was no different. Sid sang once more when the gang started back up in line again and it lead to Manny sitting on Sid though it wasn't hard enough so that he would kill the sloth. It took a while to get Manny off but Casy assured that another slip up from him she would do something about that.

But Sid did not stay quiet for long...

"If your species will continue, clap your hands," Sid sang. He clapped his hand and continued. "If your species will-"

"Sid, I'm gonna fall on you again and this time I will kill you," Manny threatened as he stopped walking to turn his head around towards Sid. He then turned back to the path and started walking again.

"Okay," Sid said. "Someone doesn't like the classics."

"Sid, I don't think you're singing bothers him," Casy sighed. "I it's think the words to the song that bothers him."

"What's wrong with the words?" Sid asked, completely clueless. Casy groaned and it was silent for a few minutes until Sid started to sing again, but only in whisper.

"He's all alooone. There's no one there beside him. The Mammoths have all gone, there's no one there to like him." He paused dramatically. "But he's still got his friends-"

Manny sighed in frustration as Sid sung but refrained from strangling the sloth himself. Instead he said something to Casy and she began to go after Sid, interrupting the song. After a few minutes of chasing Sid, Manny grabbed Sid and pulled him up to his face.

"No. More. Songs," Manny said, his voice clearly aggravated. Sid nodded and surprisingly, he didn't sing anymore as they continued to walk. It was later that afternoon when Manny stopped in front of a few icicles that showed his reflection.

"What if he's right?" Manny asked, remembering back what Sid was singing about. "What if I am the last mammoth?"

"But Manny," Sid said, stopping in his tracks and walked up to him, a smile on his face. "You have us."

"Probably not the best way to cheer him up, Sid," Casy pointed out teasingly, yet half serious. Sid turned towards Casy and put his hands on his hips.

"At least I'm trying, unlike a couple of sabers I know!"

"Excuse me?" Casy asked skeptically, her eyebrows raised. "Back there you weren't even trying! You were singing songs about Manny's kind being dead. You think that's cheering him up?"

"Well, you interrupted my singing!"

"That's because your singing is horrible!" Casy snapped. "If you weren't singing those songs maybe Manny wouldn't be so aggravated with you."

"Well, I-"

"Okay, that's enough," Manny interrupted with a sigh. "Will you two ever stop bickering?"

"Not unless she tells me I'm handsome and I have a good singing voice," Sid said, crossing his arms stubbornly. Casy raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" she asked. Sid shrugged.

"I just want to hear it!" Manny sighed again and there was a noise. It sounded like a mammoth call and Diego looked at Manny, somewhat excited.

"Mammoths?" he asked. Manny was excited as well, perhaps more than Diego. The male saber didn't like to think that his friend was the only mammoth of his kind out there; there had to be more.

"I knew I couldn't be the last one!" Manny said happily, nearly grinning. He turned his head towards Diego, his tusk bumping into Sid, who grabbed on rather than be bowled over. "I felt it in my gut!" Manny began to run off and Casy and Diego looked at each other for a moment before Casy shrugged and ran in the direction Manny went with Diego following.

Manny went around a sharp turn on the path rather quickly and Casy sped after him. Diego, who almost missed the turn, wondered how she could be that quick, but he hurried to catch up once more. Finally they reached the source of the noise. Manny stopped short in shock making Sid fly off of his tusk and roll a bit farther forward. When he stopped rolling, he was right next to a dandelion. He smiled happily, but there was a farting the noise and the some of the pedals on the dandelion went in Sid's mouth.

"Sorry," said the source of the noise. "My stomach hates me." Sid quickly got up and walked towards Manny, Casy, and Diego. He waved a hand in front of his nose, who were turning their heads from the stench.

"Well, don't that put the stink in extinction!" Sid held his nose, waving his hand.. "Phew! That's some bad gas!" Casy's eyes were wide as she realized that that had been the source of the mammoth call, not a mammoth. Casy then noticed Manny walking off, looking disheartened.

"Manny?" she called softly.

"I, uh... need to be alone for a while," he said. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up." Casy frowned and she looked down before she looked up and ran after Manny.

"Manny! Wait!" Casy called after him. He didn't stop walking but Casy caught up with him easily since he was walking slowly.

"Hey Manny," Casy tried to say in a cheerful tone but couldn't do it; she couldn't stand to see her friends upset. "Don't be upset. You can't be the only mammoth. I'm sure there are others."

"But Sid's-"

"Forget about Sid," Casy interrupted. "Besides, when have you ever listened to Sid? He's a nut job!"

"But what if he's right?" Manny sounded unsure.

"Well... I don't know about that," Casy replied. She smiled at Manny. "But like Sid said, you do have us. He may have meant it in a weird way but I mean it in a friendly way. You're part of the herd, Manny. We're a family, and us family members have to stick together."

Manny smiled and ruffled Casy's fur with his trunk. "Thank you, Casy. You always seem to cheer me up."

"No problem, big guy," Casy said with a smile. She and Manny stopped at a lake and Manny looked down in it, looking at his reflection once more.

"But still, what if I am the last mammoth?"

Casy frowned and she paused for a moment. An idea popped into her head and she shook her head. No, that idea wouldn't work. Or would it? She looked at Manny.

"You know... after we get on that boat, we could go looking for the other mammoths," Casy said. Manny looked at her in surprise. He then smiled.

"Would you really do that?" Manny asked.

"Of course," Casy smiled. "I'm sure Diego and Sid won't mind. It's not like we have a lot to do. Last thing we want is Sid starting another Campo del Sid." Manny had to chuckle at that. She smiled and continued. "And I can start now! Between here and the boat I'm sure I can find a mammoth!" Casy turned to leave Manny to himself for a while. She was forced to stop short as her path was suddenly blocked from above. She looked to see a she-mammoth and both Casy and the mammoth screamed. The she-mammoth then fell to the ground with a thump.

"Found one!" Casy beamed, feeling rather cocky. "Man, I'm good!"

"I knew it!" Manny exclaimed. "I knew I wasn't the only one!" The she-mammoth got up.

"I know!" she said. "Everyone falls out of the tree every now and then; they just don't want to admit it." Casy and Manny looked at each other and then at the she-mammoth.

"What?" Casy questioned, confused.

"Sometimes we have a tough time holding on the branches," the she-mammoth said. Manny looked up at the tree and then at the she-mammoth. "Oh, excuse me. My name is Ellie."

"Ellie, eh?" Casy asked. "That's a nice name."

"And back to the tree subject," Manny said. "And you were in the tree because...?"

Ellie climbed up at a different tree and Casy looked at her oddly as she answered. "Oh, I was looking for my brothers. They're always getting into trouble."

"Brothers?" Manny asked. "You mean, there's more?"

"Sure," Ellie asked, now at the top of the tree. But the tree bent and she fell off from it. "There's lots of us."

"Where?" Manny asked, getting excited.

"Um... everywhere," Ellie answered as she got up. "Under rocks and holes in the ground. Usually we come out at night so birds won't carry us off." Casy raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Help!" someone said. Casy turned out and there were two possums being chased by Diego, with Sid behind him. The possums went behind Ellie's leg and leaned a little out watching the saber and sloth who'd been chasing them.

"Where were you two?" Casy asked, turning to Sid and Diego.

"Well, Diego and I got teased by-"

"Snakes!" Diego interrupted. Casy knew he was trying to save face and gasped in fake worry. "There were fifty of them."

"Oh my!" she said, running up to him acting as worried as she could. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Diego said, putting on a proud, full of it expression. "But I don't know about the snakes."

"Oh please!" Sid said. "It was those possums!" Sid pointed towards the possums that were by Ellie. "They spit grapes at us! They took out me and Diego."

"Diego?!" Casy laughed, walking past him, her tail brushing against his nose. "I can understand about Sid being defeated by possums, but you?" Diego growled and Casy laughed, walking towards Manny, leaving Diego standing by Sid, growling.

"It is unbelievable," Sid said. Diego glared at him and Sid put his hands up. "Just saying." Sid joined Casy and then Diego did. He was not going to be made a fool out of by two little possums. He'd make sure of it.

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review.**


	11. Author Note

**A/N: This is to a person who has been reviewing, you know who you are. I think the usernamer you used was Nut Nuggests or something.**

**I just would like to say thank you for your honest review. Is there a way I can improve my story?**


	12. A Interesting Conversation

**A/N: I've gotten quite a few reviews concerning about Casy. I'm not upset or anything, it doesn't hurt me the slightest. Yes, I admit, making her a princess was a bad idea but if I thought that she was mary-sue then I would of fixed it right away before even posting the story. Casy is not perfect; she had a bad past and hates her life of being a princess. I don't think I should make her sweet and pretty like some had suggested. I wanted Casy to be different. When you do a Diego pairing, most of the females are just shy and sweet and one of pretty tigers. Well, Casy is different and that's how I like her.**

**I'm sorry to those who don't like her but I'm not going to change around; I like the way she is and it seems that the others like her and the story. I doubt they're saying 'Good job!' and 'I love it!' is to give me sympathy, I think they actually like it. I would think if there was something off about the story, they would tell me.**

**I made Casy up a long time ago and it's the first time I've put her in the story. She may be mary-sue but it seems that most reviewers like it. And I don't think I can change her, I'm very attached to who she is. If you don't like her for being a princess, then don't read it. Simple as that.**

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"Well, shave me down call me a mole rat," Sid said in mere surprise, yet he sounded happy. "You found another mammoth!"

"Where?!" Ellie looked around and then at Manny, Casy, Sid, and Diego. "Wait, I thought mammoths were extinct?" Manny, Casy, Sid, and Diego looked at her oddly. "What are you looking at me for?"

"I don't know." Manny shrugged. "Maybe because you're a mammoth?"

"Me? Don't be ridiculous!" Ellie said. "I'm not a mammoth; I'm a possum."

"Riiight," Manny said. "I'm a duck and this is my friend the badger," Manny pointed towards Diego and then towards Casy. "She's an ermine." He then pointed towards Sid. "And he's the platypus."

"Why do I have to be the platypus?" Sid whined and pointed towards Diego. "Make him the platypus!" The possums, which Ellie introduced them as Crash and Eddie, hopped on her tusks. Crash was the one with blue eyes and Eddie was the one with brown eyes.

"Is this guy giving you trouble, sis?" Crash asked, giving the four a look that might have been threatening if he wasn't a fraction of their size.

"Sis?!" the four asked at the same time.

"That's right; these are my brothers," Ellie said. She pointed towards Crash. "Possum." Then at Eddie. "Possum." And then at herself. "Possum."

The four paused for a moment, confused and a little freaked out by the she-mammoth. Manny then broke the silence. "I don't think her tree goes all the way to the top branch."

"If it does," Casy whispered to Manny. "Where do you think it goes?" Manny shook his head and Casy just stared at Ellie, more confused than ever. But Ellie just smiled, and Casy continued to stare. She glanced at the possums, who were staring at her, their tongues out at the corners of their mouths.

"Well, helloooo gorgeous!" Eddie said, pushing back the fun on his head, although it just flipped right back to the front.

"And what's your name?" Crash asked, raising his eyebrows up and down. Diego, who was watching the scene, felt a little ting inside of him and couldn't but help growl slightly. He then tried to cool himself, reminding him that Casy was a free girl; she didn't had and and didn't need a male to tie her down. Was he actually becoming acttracted to her? Diego shook his head.

Casy growled and got into a pouncing position. Crash and Eddie screamed and ran up to Ellie's hair. Casy stood up and smiled, nodding.

"Are you insane?!" Casy heard Manny say. "Casy!" Casy turned towards Manny. "Do you think that Ellie should come with us?" Casy grinned.

"Actually, I think that's a great idea!" Casy exclaimed. Manny looked at her in disbelief and she frowned. "What? You need a gal!"

"And you don't need a guy?" Manny pointed out. Casy scoffed and sat down, licking her paw.

"And I know just the person!" Sid said. Casy raised her eyes to Sid who was looking at Diego. He then looked at Casy and smiled.

"Oooh no!" Casy said, standing up. "I know what you're thinking and it's not gonna happen!"

"The point is: No, Sid," Manny said. "No way am I letting her come with us."

"Okay, whatever you say," Sid said casually. Casy smiled as Sid walked up to Ellie. "Manny wants me to ask you if you want to come with us to escape the flood."

Crash and Eddie got off Ellie's tusks and walked towards Diego, glaring at him. "I'd rather be road kill!" Diego lowered himself to the ground and glared at him as well.

"That can be the arranged," he said, growling. The two possums begin to growl as well and Casy walked between them.

"Okay you three, stop it!" she said. She looked at Diego. "Do you seriously want to eat these two? Trust me, I've eaten possums before and they don't taste very good." Diego's eyes met Casy's and he got up. Casy turned towards the possums and lowered herself to their level.

"Don't worry, stick with me and I'll make sure Diego won't hurt you," she said in a whisper. Crash and Eddie looked at each other and nodded, high fiving.

"Alright! We got a protector, and not just any protector; a beautiful protector!" Crash said. Casy frowned slightly as she picked herself from the ground.

"Keep talking like that and I'll arrange a way to accidently let Diego eat you," Casy said.

"Deal."

Casy nodded and Ellie pulled her brothers away from her with her trunk. "Excuse me for a moment please. I would like a word with them." Casy nodded and Ellie pulled Crash and Eddie towards the right.

While they talked, Manny bopped Sid on his head and glared at him. "Why did you invite them?"

"'Cause you two may be the only mammoths of your kind!" Sid said. Diego joined them and agreed.

"He has a point there," Diego said. Casy nodded.

"Indeed."

"I'm sorry, when did I join this dating service?" Manny asked. Just then, Ellie, Crash and Eddie walked towards them. Ellie said that they would be delighted to join but as Crash walked towards Diego, he said,

"If you be nice to us," Diego growled at him. "See? That's the opposite of being nice!"

"Maybe we'll have us a little snack before we hit the road." Diego turned around to walk off and Casy gave him a look but he ignored it.

"You want a piece of us?" Eddie asked, walking beside Crash. "Let's go!" Crash climbed into his brother's arms and Eddie pushed him into the air. Crash landed on Diego's head. He grabbed his eye lids and pulled them.

Sid went towards Diego to help him but Eddie use his tail to smack him. Diego shook Crash off his head and opened his mouth as if he was going to eat the little guy, who grabbed Diego's upper and lower lip and stuck his head into the saber's mouth.

"You know what the best part is?" Crash asked. "We're carrying diseases!"

There was a cracking noise and Diego spit Crash out, making a disgusted noise.

"Okay, thanks to Sid, we're traveling together. " Manny looked at Sid and then at the others. "And like it or not, we're gonna be one big happy family. I'll be the daddy, Ellie will be the mommy and Diego will be the mean uncle who will eat the children who get on my nerves." Diego smirked and growled at Crash and Eddie. "And Casy will be the cool aunt who's nice most of the time but eats annoying brats."

"Ha!" Eddie laughed. "She wouldn't do that; she's nice."

"I don't know," Casy said as she walked towards Crash and Eddie. "Sometimes when I'm hungry, it's not hard to imagine annoying little animals as a fresh meal." Crash and Eddie took a few steps back and got on Ellie's tusks. Diego looked at her, impressed.

"Nice one," he commented. Casy chuckled.

"Thanks," Casy said.

"Now gets moving!" Manny yelled as he began to walk.

"I thought fat guys were supposed to be jolly," Ellie muttered to Crash and Eddie.

"I'm not fat," Manny looked at Ellie. "It's this fur. It makes me look big; it's poofy."

"Oh, okay," Ellie said. She then muttered to Crash and Eddie, "He's fat." Casy giggled a bit, falling into place in line once again.

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review.**


	13. Fish Attack And Playful Possums

**A/N: Here ya go! :) Thank you to who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted. It really means a lot to me and also...DEEP HEART HAS REACHED OVER THREE THOUSAND HITS!!!! Man, you guys are just...super. :) Thank you very much and don't forget to check out the blog and forum.**

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"You know, I bet I could role up into a ball like Fast Tony," Sid said as he and the others walked along. They were heading towards a frozen ocean, which they would have to cross in order to reach the other side. Manny, Ellie and Crash and Eddie were behind them while Diego and Casy were walking on either side of Sid.

"Sid, how many times do I have to tell you?" Diego asked. "You're not that flexible, and Fast Tony can roll in a ball because he has a shell and is an Amarillo."

"I bet I can!" Sid argued.

"Why don't you try?" Casy smirked.

"You know," Sid began. "I think I will!" Sid stopped walking and sat on the ground. He brought one leg up to his shoulder and then the other one. He wrapped his arms around each leg but he didn't look like a ball. He looked more like a sloth who'd been tied in a knot. "Um... I think I did it wrong; let me try again." He looked up and saw that Casy and Diego weren't watching him. They had just continued walking. "Hey! Don't you want to see?"

"Sid, I already know that you can't do it," Diego said over his shoulder. "And un-do yourself. You're wasting time."

"Fine, fine," Sid huffed as he tried to untangle his arms in legs but they wouldn't budge "Um..." Sid tried again but they didn't untangled. "I think I'm stuck. Casy! Diego! Help me!"

"Oh, Sid," Manny said as he approached him. "Just untangle yourself. We need to get going."

"But here's the thing: I'm stuck." Manny raised an eyebrow. "Eh heh..." Manny sighed and used his trunk to untangle Sid. "Be careful, Manny. You know how I get hurt easily." Manny then managed to untangle Sid, who let out a yelp. "I said be careful!"

"How did you want me to do it, Sid?" Manny asked, sarcasm in his voice at what he said next. "Gently untangle you the same way you gently tangled yourself up in the first place?"

"Yes, that would've been nice." Manny rolled his eyes and walked past him. Sid got up as Ellie walked past him and followed her, grumbling nonsense along the way.

They were crossing the frozen ocean. Diego was a falling little farther behind, as he was walking very slowly. Ellie led the way, followed by Manny, who was followed by Casy and Sid. The possums, on the other hand, were playing around. Manny finally noticed that Diego was falling behind and called out to him.

"Diego! Come on!"

Diego's ears were back and as he passed a little puddle of water, he glared at it as if it would jump on him. Crash and Eddie slide around down piece of ice that looked like a slide and got off it, running towards Ellie.

"Hey, knock it off," Diego said, and stopped walking. Eddie stopped at Ellie's leg, putting a hand against it. Crash then almost slid past him and Eddie grabbed his tail and pulled him back so they were standing side by side.

"Oh, where's your sense of fun, you toothy tiger?" Crash asked.

"Can't you see the ice is thin enough without you two wearing it down?"

"Ah, come on, Diego," Sid said. "It's strong enough to hold a ten ton mammoth and a nine ton "possum"." He pointed out, twitching two fingers on each hand to emphasize the word 'possum'. Diego grunted and he continued to walk. Casy stopped walking until Diego caught up to her and she continued to walk at his slow pace.

"What's with you?" Casy asked. She smirked. "Afraid of the water?"

"Aha ha... of course not," Diego said. "The water is just... freezing. Like the ice. If I walk slowly, I won't feel the cold so much."

"Uh huh," Casy said, not convinced. "Sure. But, if you ever get scared..." She stopped walking and Diego halted, confused to why she stopped. Casy slightly nuzzled Diego teasingly under his chin. "I'll be here for you." She said and winked at him before walking off while Diego stood there shocked. Sid then walked up to the saber.

"She wants you," he said simply. Diego growled at him and Sid ran off to join Casy. Diego saw the possums giving him dirty looks.

They continued on.

Just then, a big green fish jumped up from the water, cracking the ice and knocking Sid into the water.

Where Diego had been walking, the ice cracked, but he managed to stay afloat on a piece of ice which now looked like a little ice berg. It shifted back and forth a little and Diego put his claws into the ice to keep from falling off.

Where Manny was standing, a skinny purple fish popped up from the ice and landed on the top of it. Manny began to run away from it and the fish went back in the water, following the mammoth from under the ice.

Crash and Eddie ran towards Ellie, who had passed out. "Ellie! Wake up!" Eddie shouted.

"Look at me!" Crash said as he opened Ellie's eye lids and slapped her eye ball. Ellie finally woke up and stood up and began running away with Crash and Eddie.

Not far from Diego, Sid was in the water. The purple fish swim past him and Sid called out to his friend in panic.

"Diego!" But Diego just stood there, frozen. Sid began to swim towards him. "Diego!" He looked over his shoulder and saw that the purple fish was following him. He turned his head back around and swam faster towards the saber. He got on the ice berg and stood beside his friend.

Sid tried to pull Diego with him but Diego wouldn't move. He looked at the fish and then grabbed Diego's tail. "This may sting a little," Sid said. He bit Diego's tail, snapping him out of his daze. Diego roared in pain and surprise and he and Sid jumped off the ice berg and onto other ones floating in the once frozen ocean.

"Hey, where's Casy?" Sid asked. Diego looked around and he saw her to his right on a thin piece of ice which was floating away from them. The purple fish was swimming around her tiny island threateningly. She was trapped!

"Casy!" Sid yelled. Diego looked at the fish, to Casy and then for something he could do to help her. He saw a little tree which she was floating towards and he began to run towards it, jumping from one ice flow to another. He got to the tree and climbed it, going on low branch over the water he hated so much.

"Casy!" Diego yelled. Casy looked up at Diego.

"Diego!" she said, obviously surprised. Her fear soon replaced the surprise and she called to him. "Why am I always the dismal in distress?!" Diego had to laugh at that.

"Grab my paw!"

Diego held out his paw towards Casy and she reached her out towards his but they were a tiny bit too far away from eachother. "I-I can't!" she yelled. Diego looked at the fish, which was swimming towards her. Diego lowered himself and reached his paw more to her. Casy put her paw in his and Diego pulled her up into the tree just as the fish jumped up onto her little ice flow.

They then jumped off the tree and ran back towards Sid. "Are you okay?" Sid asked. Casy nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Casy answered. She turned towards Diego and smiled. "Thanks." Diego's eyes widened slightly as he looked at her in surprise.

"You... you said thank you," he stuttered. Casy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she said. "Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just-" Diego was interrupted by Casy, who licked his cheek quickly. Sid's jaw dropped and Diego looked at her in surprise. Casy smiled.

"It's just not something I say a lot?" she asked. "Well, thank you Diego." Casy then walked off and Diego and Sid looked at each other, surprised expressions frozen on their faces.

Manny was on an ice berg, near the frozen ocean, looking around. Just then, the purple fish popped out of the water and tried to bite Manny a few times, making him walk backwards to the edge of it, tipping the ice berg slightly.

The purple fish jumped up to go after Manny but it got caught by Manny's tusks. Manny looked at the corner of his eyes and saw Ellie, Crash and Eddie looking at him in fear, the possums once more on Ellie's tusks.

Manny took a few steps forwards and threw the fish. It hit an ice berg and then fell into the water. Manny then walked off the ice berg and onto the frozen ocean. He, Sid and Diego met up at the edge of it.

"What in the animal kingdom was that?" Sid asked.

"I don't know," Diego said, breathless. "but I do know land safe; water not safe." He then walked off, with Manny and Sid following him. They met up Casy and then with Ellie, Crash and Eddie.

Crash and Eddie let out a little yelp and ran towards Casy. "Are you okay?!" Crash asked. Eddie looked over her back while Crash looked over her paws.

"Her back seems to be okay," Eddie said as he jumped off from Casy's back. "How's her paws?"

"They seem to be fine," Crash said. He then let out a little scream and pulled Eddie to him. "Look! There's something hanging out of her toes!" He turned towards Casy's other paw and pointed at it. "That one too!" Crash fell to his knees, pulling the fur on his head in despair. "What has that fish done to her?!"

Diego then looked down at Casy's paws and his ears went back, a sour expression appearing on his face. He sighed. "Those are her claws."

Crash stopped in mid-hair pulling and both Crash and Eddie looked more at her paws. "Oooooh," Crash said, getting up. "They are!" Casy rolled her eyes and Eddie patted Casy's paws.

"At least my girl is okay," he smiled.

"Your girl? She's my girl!" Crash argued.

"No, mine!"

"Mine!

Eddie jumped onto Crash, knocking him to the ground, and grunting, still arguing. Crash took Eddie by his shoulders and jumped on them, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Okay, you two, that's enough!" Casy said. "I'm my own girl; I don't belong to anyone else. So save some of that energy for later." The boys stopped and got back on Ellie's tusks, who smiled at Manny, looking impressed.

"That was the bravest thing I've ever seen," she said.

"It was nothing," Manny said, flustered. "I, uh-"

"Oh, it's not a compliment," Ellie said suddenly flatly. "To a possum, bravery is just dumb." Ellie then walked off and Crash and Eddie followed but not without saying,

"Yeah, we're spineless."

"Lily livers."

"Maybe mammoths are going extinct 'cause they put themselves in danger," Ellie said. "Maybe you should run away more." Manny smiled sarcastically.

"Good point. Thanks for the advice."

"Happy to help."

"Can you believe her?" Manny asked when Ellie and the possums were out of ear shot. "Bravery is just dumb; maybe if you run away more." He said mockingly. "She infuriating, stubborn and narrow minded!"

"Ooo!" Sid said, accusingly. "Just like you! And you like her!"

"I do not," Manny disagreed as he began to walk off.

"Ahh, don't worry!" Sid said. "Your secret is safe with me." Diego and Casy walked past him. "Oh, and yours too, Diego." Diego stopped walking to look at Sid as Casy continued to walk.

"What secret?" Diego asked.

"You know, the one where you can't swim," Sid said as he and Diego continued to walk. Diego stopped at a puddle, which had a dirt hill in the middle of it.

"That's... ridiculous," Diego said.

"Fine," Sid said as he walked in the water. "But we're traveling around melting places, buddy. You'll have to face your fear sooner or later."

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Crash and Eddie grunted as they rolled a log to the crest of a hill. Crash turned towards his brother. "Ready, Eddie?"

"Set!" Eddie said. "Let's roll!"

Crash and Eddie pushed the log off and Crash got on it as it started to roll. "Wait for me!" Eddie said as he hopped a few times and then got on the log but unfortunately for him, he got caught up in the log and the three tumbled down the hill in a tangle.

Manny, Casy, Sid and Diego, who were not far from the hill, were walking when they saw their antics. They stopped to watch what they were doing and Casy shook her head as the log hit the tree.

"Can't they stop playing around for once?" Casy frowned. "At least Ellie is more straight headed than them!"

"Oh, you think so?" Manny asked. Casy nodded and closed her eyes knowingly.

"I know so," she said. She opened one eye when she heard Ellie cheering. She was on a log and was rolling towards the tree. When she got there, it didn't crash, it just went over the tree and she continued to roll on the log. Casy opened her other eye and looked at Manny, who was giving her a look and Casy smiled sheepishly. "Okay... maybe not."

"So..." Manny paused for a moment before he continued. He turned to Sid. "Do you still think she's the girl for me?"

"Uh huh," Sid agreed. "She's tons of fun and you're no fun at all." Sid looked at Manny sweetly as he had his index fingers touch. "She completes you." Casy bonked Sid on the head and she looked at Manny.

"Don't listen to him, Manny," she said. "You're fun at times, right Sid?" Casy turned her head towards Sid, hoping he'd catch her drift.

"Well, I'm not really so sur-"

"I said, right Sid?" Casy asked again through gritted teeth. Sid flinched a little and looked at Manny, nodding his head, although the expression his face told him that Casy was frightening him a little bit with her glare.

"Right!" he squeaked. "You're fun, Manny!"

"Like when?" Manny questioned, challenging Sid.

"Um..." Sid paused. "When you... um... let me ride on your back! Yeah, that's fun!" Manny raised an eyebrow but just shook his head.

Crash and Eddie then got out of the log, although neither able to walk straight after their ride. Crash raised his hand in the air for Eddie to hive five, who went for it but they both missed and fell to the ground instead.

"Hey Manny!" Crash said as got on the log and then on a tree. "Can you shoot me from a tree and into the pond?"

"No," Manny answered as the four walked by by Crash.

"Aww, come on!" Crash whined.

"Now, how do you expect to impress Ellie with that attitude?" Sid asked.

"I don't wanna impress her."

"Then why are you trying so hard to convince her that she's a mammoth?"

"Because that's what she is!" Manny barked. "I don't care if she thinks if she's a possum. You can't be two things."

"Oh contraire, my friend," Sid said, pointing a finger up. "Tell that to the bull-frog, chicken-hawk or chicken dove." Diego then came up beside Sid and sort of agreed with Sid.

"He's not gonna give up on you," he said. "It'll just be easier for us if you just go with it." Manny looked at Sid, who actually looked knowledgeable for once, and Manny groaned as he turned towards the tree, where Crash had turned his tail into a swing and Eddie was pushing him.

"What do you want me to do?" Manny asked. On the last push, Crash jumped up on a tree branch and walked towards the edge of the branch.

"Pull back the tree and shoot me in the pond," Crash said.

"I don't know..." Manny said, unsure. Crash then leaned back on the branch, looking at his fingers.

"Well, if you're too lame to do it, we can get Ellie," he said.

"No, no," Manny said quickly. "I'll do it." Manny then pulled back the branch all the way to his feet, where he placed his foot on the branch. "Have you done this before?" Crash laughed.

"Only a million times!" he answered. He then pointed his finger in the air. "Fire!" Manny let go and Crash went flying in the sky. "I can flyyyyy!" He flew past Ellie, who looked up. "I believe I can flyyyy- ugn!" While he was singing, he had flown into a tree. He slowly leaned out from the tree and fell to the ground.

"Crash!" Eddie yelled as he ran towards the tree. The others met up with Crash and Eddie, who was telling Crash not to go into the light.

"What happened?" Ellie asked.

"Manny shot him out of a tree!" Eddie said. Ellie turned to Manny in surprise.

"What's wrong with you?!" Ellie exclaimed.

"He said he could do it," Many said, trying to defend himself.

"And you listened to him," she pointed out.

Manny looked down at Crash and then at Ellie. "Can I help any way?" Ellie turned to him, clearly upset and aggravated with the male mammoth.

"You've done enough," was her reply. Manny frowned and turned towards Casy, Sid, and Diego, who all frowned and looked at Crash.

"Crash, don't leave me," Eddie said as he hugged Crash to him. "Who's gonna watch my back? Who's gonna be my wing-man of mayhem?" By now, Eddie had dropped Crash and was on his knees. "Who's gonna fight over Casy with me?" Casy rolled her eyes and mumbled. Crash then lifted his head, his eyes opened.

"Fight over Casy?" he asked, cheerfully. He stood up and Eddie helped him. "Wait... my legs!"

"His legs!"

"I can run!"

"He can run!"

Crash and Eddie, and a little bit of Ellie cheered as the possums danced around and then ran off, playing with each other as if nothing had happened. Ellie laughed a little and the four looked at her, although Manny glared. She noticed it and then stopped, smiling sheepishly.

"What can I say? They're boys! They make my life a little more adventurous," she said. She chuckled a little and then walked quickly towards Crash and Eddie, glaring at them. "You guys are so dead!" There was hitting noises and the two sabers, sloth and mammoth flinched as Ellie hit Crash and Eddie with her trunk.

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review.**


	14. A Family Member

A/N: I'm sorry for not updating in a while. :P I'm in school so I will be busy at some times; I have eight classes! Lol. Well, here's the chapter and don't hesitate to join the Deep Heart forum. Oh, and if you want to request a one-shot for 'CasyxDiego 100 one-shot' please do so in a review or P.M.

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Manny looked up at the sky and knew it would be dark soon. It was already early evening and the sun was setting quickly. He looked at the four but only to find Sid missing. "Where's Sid?" Manny asked.

"He said he was hungry and went to get some leaves." Casy wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Honestly, how can anyone eat leaves? That's just gross!"

"And how would you know?" Diego smirked. "Ever tasted it before?"

"Actually, yes," Casy answered. She got weird looks from Diego and Manny. "It's not my fault! My father made me!" Her eyes went distant and thoughtful. "I wonder what he's doing now."

"Maybe he's looking for you," Manny said. Casy laughed bitterly.

"Yeah right," she said. "You don't know my father. He's not exactly the most caring of parents."

"And how would you know that?" Manny asked. "I mean, sure, you lived with him with your pack but how do you know he's not caring?"

"Because he never showed me he loved me, Manny," Casy said, narrowing his eyes. "I even asked him to, but just shunned me and said that showing love for one another is showing weakness."

"Well, there's more than one kind of love," Manny said. "There's family love and romance love." Casy smirked.

"You mean the way you love Ellie?" Diego laughed and Manny sighed in frustration.

"The point is: Your father may not have showed that he loved you but I know he did care for you on the inside," Manny said. "You're his daughter. How could a father not love his daughter?"

"I don't know," Casy paused for moment before she began walking off where Ellie went. "If you ever see my father, ask him that. I'm sure it would be an interesting answer." Casy was starting to walk slowly when she heard Sid yell. That made her stop and turn. "Was that just Sid?"

"I sure hope not," Manny sighed. "Even on a journey to get to a boat, can't he stay out of trouble?" Casy snorted.

"This is Sid we're talking about." Manny gave her a look and she shrugged. "Hey, that's the way he is." Sid then came along, yelling for help, a male saber chasing him not far behind. Casy gasped slightly and began to order. "Manny, take Sid and keep him safe. I'll take on the saber."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" When Casy gave him a glare, he began to stutter. "I mean-"

"I'm not weak!" she yelled. "I can handle it." She then turned towards Diego. "Diego, if that saber tries to go after Manny or Sid, go after him." Diego nodded, knowing not to argue with her for the moment. Casy turned back to Manny again. "When Sid is close enough, grab him with your trunk and put him on your back so he's out of reach."

Manny nodded and it was only a few seconds later that Sid was close enough for Manny to reach. Manny grabbed him and put him on his back as Casy pounced on the saber. They rolled a little and then Casy let him go, making him fly to the left. But the saber landed on his feet and snarled, as did Casy.

They circled at each other and the saber tried to attack Casy, but she got out of the way and got behind him, jumping right over him. They pawed, growled, tried to scratch at each other but it eventually ended with Casy pinning the saber to the ground, growling and snarling in his face, baring her teeth.

"I've never seen Casy like this," Sid whispered to Manny.

"That's because they're in a fight, Sid," Diego said. "When sabers are in a fight, they show their fangs to show that they're tough and won't back down."

"You think Casy will be okay?"

"She's strong, Sid," Diego said. "She'll be fine."

"What are you doing here?" Casy asked. "Scratch that, why were you chasing that sloth?"

The saber growled and pushed Casy off him, getting up himself. "Well, I'm a saber. I eat meat, and that sloth was meat."

"My friends are not for eating," Casy growled. "Get out of here and if I see you chasing any of my friends again, I will not hesitate to use my claws." The saber chuckled.

"You don't have what it takes," he said. Casy growled and lifted a paw, unsheathing her claws.

"Try me," she said. She lifted her paw, preparing to strike, but Manny put his trunk around her paw, lowering it.

"Save it for later," Manny said. He looked at the saber and glared at him. "Beat it."

"Fine." the saber snarled. He took a glance at Casy, a sad expression on his face, and stood tall. He looked at Manny. "As you wish, mammoth." He looked at Casy and softly said "And as you wish, my sweet Casy." And then he walked off and Casy's eyes widened slightly as she watched the saber walk off.

"My sweet Casy?" Diego repeated. He looked at Casy, a confused look on his face. "Do you know him?"

"Yes," Casy mumbled as she began to walk in the direction of where Ellie was. "All too well."

Manny and the gang walked on in silence. Casy had yet to say a word and Sid and Diego tried and failed to get her to talk. Crash and Eddie even made an attempt, pretending to heartbroken that "their girl" was ignoring them.

They had just found a good camp site, but the clearing was filled with fallen trees. Manny began to clear them out of the way. As he did this, he noticed Ellie playing with Crash and Eddie and watched them until Diego spoke, breaking him away from his thoughts.

"She's not half bad," Diego said. Manny turned to Diego, the log still in his trunk. Sid, who was walking with Diego and Casy, got hit with the log as Casy and Diego ducked. Sid fell to the ground and Casy helped him up.

"Crazy and confused but sweet," Diego said with a smile.

"So?" Manny asked as he turned back around, the log swinging towards the three. Casy and Diego ducked but it hit Sid and made him fall to the ground again.

"So, what's holding you back?" Diego asked. Manny threw the log out of the clearing and paused for a moment, looking a little sadden.

"My family," Manny replied sadly. He walked off and picked up another log, which Sid popped out of it, smiling.

"You can have that again you know," Sid said. Manny frowned, now aggravated.

"No, Sid, I can't," Manny said. He went to throw the log but stopped when Sid started to speak.

"But think about it," Sid said. "You're letting your whole species down and that's just... that's just... selfish!"

Manny glared at him and threw the log, where it landed on the ground. Casy and Diego walked by him as he said,

"I think I'm starting to get through to him."

Casy stopped walking and helped Sid out of the log. She dusted him off with her tail and Sid smiled at her. "Thanks." Casy nodded and continued to walk, with Sid behind her.

As Manny was throwing another log, he noticed the possums going under a log and then Ellie went after them, going under it as well. When she was half way through the log, she tried to go through it more but couldn't. She grunted as she tried to go through it but she didn't move.

"Need help?" Manny asked as he walked up to her.

"No," she said simply. "Just, uh... catching my breath."

"You're stuck, Manny noted.

"I am not," Ellie said as she looked at him with a stubborn look in her eyes.

"Alright," Manny shrugged. "Then, let's go." He then began to walk off but stopped when Ellie admitted she was stuck. He walked back towards her and picked up the log. "Don't you think picking them up like this would be easier?" Manny threw it towards the left, where the log pushed back something long and green.

Manny and Ellie noticed it and Ellie slowly stood up, walking towards it. "Ellie?" Manny asked as he followed. Casy, Sid and Diego stopped walking when they noticed that Manny wasn't with them. They looked behind their shoulders and saw him and Ellie walking into some kind of forest. The three smiled and decided to leave them to themselves.

Indeed it was some kind of forest. Most of it was trees with long, thin leaves. They hung low, green and fresh. As Manny followed Ellie, the she-mammoth looked around.

"I know this place..." Ellie trailed off.

_Flash Back..._

_Young Ellie used her trunk to trumpet, searching for any other mammoths. She walked some more and did the call again. She noticed a big tree with snow on it and figured it would be a good place to find some shelter from the cold. After the long walk towards it, she was finally there and looked around, expecting someone to be there. But she didn't find anyone and frowned, leaning against the tree, trying to get warm._

_Just then, a female possum popped down in front of Ellie, her tail hanging onto the branch. Ellie looked at her for a moment before two baby possums showed themselves on each of the female possum's side._

Ellie opened her eyes and looked at Manny. She walked towards Manny and looked down at one of their footprints and put her foot in the footprint. She then looked up at Manny and smiled. She was a mammoth.


	15. A Rocky Path

**A/N: I meant to update this on Tuesday but being my lazy self I didn't really feel like looking through. :P But here you go and thanks for the reviews! :) I am now offering to write movie scripts for anyone; let me know if want to write a movie but would rather have someone who has well experience.  
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Sid hummed as he picked up a rock and slid it across a rock in his other hand. There was a rustle in the bushes and Sid looked at it for a moment before he dropped the rock and picked up another one. He slid it across the rock in his other hand and sparks flew, making Sid smile. There was a rustle in the bushes again and he looked at it as Diego and Casy walked past him.

"Boy, Manny took a big leap with Ellie," Sid said.

"He sure did," Diego said as he and Casy lay down nearby.

"He just dove right in," Sid went on his belly on the ground and slide towards Diego, the rocks still in his hands. "Kind of brave, huh? The way he faced his fear."

"I wouldn't know," Diego shook his head as he sat up. "Sabers don't feel fear."

"Oh, come on," Sid said. "All animals feel fear. It separates us from let's say..." Sid looked at the rock in his hand and then at Diego. "Rocks. They have no fear." He threw the rock behind him, which landed in little river. "And they sink." Casy raised an eyebrow.

"What are you getting at, Sid?"

"It may surprise you that I, too, have experienced fear," Sid said, looking as if he was sly about it.

"No," Diego said sarcastically. "You?"

"Oh, yes, yes," Sid said. "As impossible it may seem the sloth has natural enemies that want to harm us."

"I wonder why."

"Jealousy mostly," Sid said. "But fear is natural." Diego then got up in Sid's face and said,

"Fear is for prey," And then began to walk off but when Sid spoke, he stopped.

"Then you're the water's prey," he said. Sid got on a branch and dived in it. "You know, most animals can swim as babies." Sid then got out of the bush and onto a branch, where he laid on his stomach. "And for a tiger, it's like crawling its belly." He began to crawl on the branch and jumped off it. Diego turned to walk off but Sid appeared in front of him. "But faster."

"Now, claw kick, claw kick," Sid said as he used one arm to claw and one of his legs to kick. He did that a couple of times. "And now I'm looking over my shoulder to see if I'm being followed and I'm breathing." Casy looked at Sid in annoyance when he started to make loud breathing noises. She tried to ignore but it was never easy to ignore Sid. She got up, walked towards Diego and cut the vine he was on, which made him fell to the ground.

"Goodnight, Sid," she smirked as she walked off. Diego chuckled and followed her.

---

"Phew! Do we do tricks like roll over or do we just throw our weight around?" Ellie asked as she and Manny walked back to the camp sight. Ellie's example was a bit over-exuberant, and she accidently tumbled into Manny, making him stumble as well. Ellie caught him with her trunk and pulled him up. "Sorry; I don't know my own strength yet."

"Ellie," Manny began. "Do you realize that we have a chance to save our species?"

"Really?" Ellie asked. "How are we gonna do that?"

"Well..." Manny paused. "You know..." Ellie then realized what he meant and looked at Manny in shock.

"Uh uh," she said. "Did you just-"

"No, I didn't mean-" he said quickly, trying to fix his mistake.

"I've been a mammoth for five minutes and you're hitting on me?" Ellie glared and stomped off.

"I wasn't saying right now," Manny said. "I was just saying it was our responsibility." Ellie stopped walking and looked at him.

"What?!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Okay, that came out wrong!" Manny yelled, knowing he was messing up really badly.

"Responsibility?" she asked. "Just doing your duty, huh? Well, I got news for you. You're not saving our species tonight or any other night." Ellie then stomped off and Manny groaned.

Casy, Sid and Diego, who were in front of the fire that Sid made, looked up when Manny walked up to them.

"So... how did it go?" Diego asked.

"Not bad," Manny answered. Ellie then walked past Manny, Crash and Eddie on her back. She stepped in a little puddle, which caused Sid's fire to go out.

"Okay, let's go," Ellie said. "We traveled with you guys all day and now you're coming with us at night.

"But we can't see at night," Manny said.

"Then enjoy the flood," Ellie said.

"I can't even look at him!" Eddie said as he turned his head to the side.

"Pervert!" Crash said. He gave Manny the "I'm watching you" look.

Manny, Casy, Sid and Diego looked at each other before they followed Ellie. They walked for a while but Casy stopped when Sid let out a painful cry.

"Be careful," Crash said. "There's a stump."

"Oh gee, thanks," Sid muttered. Casy put her paw on Sid and lead him away from the stump. Casy then caught up with Diego and said,

"Ellie seems pretty upset with Manny. I wonder what he said to her."

"I don't know, but it sounds like things didn't go well. It's probably a huge misunderstanding and both of them are too stubborn to admit it," Diego said back to the female. Casy sighed and nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the ground they were walking on rose up and Diego slipped. He would have fallen off if it weren't for his claws. Unfortunately for him, he slid to the edge before catching himself, with Casy hanging onto his legs and Sid hanging from hers.

It seemed that the ground was actually a rock that had been balancing on other rocks as a bridge. Crash and Eddie got to be at the lower part of it and Manny and Ellie were in the middle of the rock, where Diego was hanging on for deal life.

The mammoths and the possums were moving slightly, trying to keep the rock steady but it didn't really work. "Stop moving!" Diego yelled. At that, the four stopped moving and Diego sighed in relief. "Thank you."

A few seconds after he said that, though, the little rock that was supporting the rock Manny and Ellie were on broke and the rock moved again, going in circles. Sid let go of Casy's leg and fell onto a different rock about the same height as the one Crash and Eddie were clinging to.

The part that Ellie was standing on began to break and Diego noticed it. "Manny! Ellie! Lock trunks!" he yelled. Manny looked doubtful, giving Ellie a look and Ellie scoffed. "Now!" At that, they locked trunks, seeing that Diego wasn't kidding and he was in his bossy mood.

When they locked trunks, Manny pulled Ellie up so that the rock they stood on would remain in one place and stay steady. As the rock swung around Crash and Eddie, Diego ordered them to a ledge that was coming their way. They looked at it and then down, where there was a lot of pointy rocks. They laughed.

"Funny," Eddie said. "Now what's your real plan?"

"Just do it!" Diego shouted, not in the mood to argue.

The brothers hugged each other. "Bye, Crash," Eddie said.

"Bye, Eddie," Crash said. He raised a hand in the air and waved it. "Bye, Ellie."

"Go now!" Diego yelled.

As the rock got close to the ledge, Crash leaned out a little and grabbed onto it, with Eddie keeping a grip on his tail.

"Uh..." Manny started saying to Ellie, feeling bad. "I'm sorry what I said back there if it offended you."

"What do you mean if it offended me?!" Ellie exclaimed as she leaned backwards a little, the rock breaking more, making Crash let go and having the rock go around in a circle.

"That offended her!" Crash corrected. "That offended her!"

"I mean, that!" Manny said. "That offended you." Ellie, pleased with herself, let Manny pulled her up where she was before. "You just over-reacted a little."

"What?!" Ellie exclaimed, leaning back again.

"Take it back!" Crash yelled.

"There are other lives in-stake here!" Eddie yelled as the rock moved in a circle again.

"Wait a minute," Sid said. "He's got a point."

"He's got nothing!"

"It was a misunderstanding!" Casy yelled, adding her thoughts.

"It was insensitive!" Ellie pointed out and Casy rolled her eyes.

"Manny's not like that and you know it. He just has a habit of putting his very large foot into his very large mouth a lot!"

"Apologize!" Diego said.

"Why me?" Manny asked. "She over-reacted."

"Just apologize!"

"No!"

"Do it!"

"Okay!" Ellie interrupted. "I'm sorry!" She let Manny pull her up and the others exclaimed together,

"What?!"

"He's right," Ellie admitted. "I over-reacted."

"You mean, you-"

"Not another word or I'll come down there and push you over myself!" Diego snarled and Manny glared at him.

As the part of the rock Sid was on got close to a ledge, he crawled a little towards the edge of the rock and when the rock was by the ledge, he got off it and landed on his back. He sat up but then noticed that the rock behind him was rising and looked behind him.

The rock then began to break. Diego noticed as well and started directing the others again. "Manny! Ellie! Go!"

They listened to Diego and Manny helped Ellie to the side of the rock he was on and then they, Crash and Eddie headed towards the ledge. Diego managed to pull himself on the rock with Casy on him and she let go and ran towards the ledge. Diego then ran with her and then jumped to the ledge and jumped. Neither would have made it however if Manny and Ellie hadn't caught him with their trunks.

"I guess we finally did something right together," Ellie said, looking at Manny. They looked at each other for a moment before Diego interrupted them.

"Hey, don't mind me," he joked. "Just hanging off a cliff." Manny and Ellie looked down at Diego, who chuckled. They then helped him get on the cliff and Diego walked a few steps away from the edge. Casy then ran up to him, obviously worried.

"Diego!" she gasped. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Diego smiled at her, trying to act cool in front of her. "I'm fine." Casy frowned, knowing that Diego was faking it. She could tell by the tone of his voice.

"Tell the truth," she said with a slight glare.

"Really," Diego tried to reason. "I'm fine."

Casy just gave him a look and Diego sighed, giving in. "Okay, so I was a little freaked out, but I'm fine now." Casy smiled in relief.

"Good."

She seemed hesitated about something and a little shy. Diego was going to ask her what was wrong when she got closer to him and put her cheek next his and nuzzled it. Diego's eyes widened and he just stood there. When Casy pulled away, she smiled and then walked off to Sid, her tail flickering under Diego's chin teasingly. And he just stood there with wide eyes, looking at Casy in shock.

---

Sid hummed as he put a stick up in the fire with another stick. He smiled and then noticed Manny and Ellie walking by him. Sid dropped his stick and stood in front of the fire, giving them a warning look. He moved around it as they walked past him protecting his precious fire. When they were far enough away he smiled, pleased that his fire didn't get put out this time.

He then grabbed a long piece of wood he had found earlier and dragged it towards the right side of the fire, where Casy and Diego were at. Diego was lying down and Casy was standing, her eyes seemly a little daze as she watched Sid.

Diego, who had his eyes close and his head on his paws, opened his eyes and lifted his head.

"Remember the good old days?" Sid asked the two.

"And which good old days are those, Sid?" Casy asked, chuckling.

"Oh, you know," Sid said. "Yesterday, last week, when the trees were up and down and the ground would stay on our feet," Sid dusted off the wood and his tail hit Diego in the nose.

"Yep, those were the good old days," Diego agreed. "Tigers were tigers and mammoths were mammoths."

"Before they thought they were possums?" Casy joked. Diego chuckled.

"Yep," he said. Casy smiled and layed down, putting her head on her paws and closed her eyes. "Actually... Casy? Can we take a walk? I wanna talk to you about something." Casy opened her eyes and looked up at Diego before nodding. Sid leaned towards Diego and whispered.

"If you plan on telling her your feelings, might I suggest a lake?" Sid asked. He then let out a laugh. "Get it? A lake? Ha!" Diego growled slightly, giving Sid a look. "Okay, I'll be quiet now."

Casy and Diego then got up and began to walk towards the edge of their camp site. It wasn't long after when they were walking side by side in the forest. There was a little awkward silence between the two, although Diego felt it more so. He cleared his throat.

"Um..." he began but was stopped, unsure. Casy looked at him expectantly.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Diego said quickly. "You just…seem better than earlier." Casy raised an eyebrow.

"What was wrong with me earlier?" Casy asked. Diego shrugged.

"Nothing really," he said. "It's just that, well, you wouldn't really talk."

"Oh..." Casy said quietly. "I'm sorry about that. It's just...that saber...seeing him kinda shook me up."

"Yeah, about that," Diego said. "Who was he anyway?" Casy was quiet for a moment before she looked down as she spoke.

"He's my father..." she whispered finally.

"So Manny was right."

Casy looked at Diego, confusion on her face. "Huh?"

"Manny," Diego answered. "He was right about your father looking for you." Casy scoffed.

"I doubt it," she said. "My father wouldn't want to look for me. It was probably just coincidence. Besides if he was looking for me, it's because the packs needs me back, not him."

"How do you think he found you anyway?" Diego asked when they stopped at a lake. Diego was careful not to flinch at it in front of Casy.

"He has a good sense of smell like me," Casy answered. She looked at Diego and smirked. "Unlike you, you have a bad sense of smell for a saber."

"I have a great sense of smell!"

"Oh really?" Casy questioned. "Well then... if you do, then..." Casy looked around and found a pinecone on Diego's right. She then looked back at Diego. "I'm gonna roll a pinecone in your way and you tell me which direction it came from."

"Go ahead," Diego said. "I'll still be able to tell where it came from." Casy chuckled.

"We'll see," she said. "Now, close your eyes." Diego did so and Casy flicked the pinecone to Diego's left and took a few steps back. "Okay, now open them." Diego did so and Casy continued as she pointed towards the pinecone. "Now you sniff it and the scent and tell me where it came from. North, South, East or West."

Diego sniffed the pinecone and then sniffed to the right. But since there was pinecone scent surrounding the entire clearing, he got confused. After a few minutes of sniffing, he brought his head up.

"East," he answered. Diego looked at Casy, who snickered. "West?" Casy laughed and began to walk back to the camp site. She looked behind her shoulder and said,

"You had it right the first time." Diego looked at her in surprise.

"Why you tricky little…!" he said teasingly, not planning on finishing the sentence. Casy laughed and turned her head back around. Diego sighed and began to follow Casy. Yep, she sure was something.

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**A/N: So, did you like it? Please review.**


	16. Comfronting A Father

**A/N: Hey! Update time. :) Thank you to those who have reviewed in the past, it truly means a lot to me that you like this story and enjoy Casy as much as I do. Part two of this story is almost done and then...part three! After that and part four, I'm not sure what to do. Either to make more stories with Casy, or to stop and write another Diego/OC story. What do you guys think?\**

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The next day, Diego was the first one to wake up. He yawned, a little roar escaping his mouth. He stretched, his muscles stretching as well. As he stretched, his paws went into a little puddle of water.

"Water?" he questioned. His eyes then widened and he jumped on Manny's back, yelping. "Water!" It woke Manny up, who's eyes opened he got up, tumbling towards the tree Ellie, Crash and Eddie were sleeping on, knocking Diego off his back and knocking the three from tree, and into the water. Casy woke from all the commotion.

"Crash, I told you not to drink water before you went to bed," Eddie scolded.

"I didn't do this!" Crash exclaimed. His voice got softer as he spoke. "At least not all of it."

"What happened?" Ellie asked.

"We over slept," Manny answered. "We need to move."

"Oh, hey Manny!" Sid said, appearing from a tree. "Wow, what a night. You'll never guess what happened to me."

"I'm gonna go out of the limb here and say you were sleep walking," Casy said.

"No, I was kidnapped by mini sloths," Sid said.

"That was going to be my second guess."

"And they worshiped me!" Sid said. "I mean, sure they threw me into a flaming tar pit..." Casy raised an eyebrow and looked at Diego, who shrugged. "But they worshiped me!"

"I think he's gone insane from too much smoke inhalation," Casy said.

"I'm not going crazy!" Sid argued. Casy ignored him and Manny began to speak.

"Come on, we gotta go, Sid," he said as he began to walk.

"But-but-but-" Sid sighed and his shoulders slumped, following Manny, with the others close behind. "Oh fine."

As they walked on, Sid continued trying to convince them his tale was true. No one believed him... except for Ellie that is, but Casy just told her the sloth was often confused in the mornings.

They were now walking through a canyon and Sid was a little behind them. He was walking slowly and panting, obviously tired from the walking. "Can we slow down?" he asked as he stopped walking, his back arched over a little. "I'm dying here!"

He heard a bird squawk and he looked towards a tree, where two vultures were sitting on tree branches, eyeing Sid.

"It was just a figure speech!" Sid said before he ran off to join the others. He managed to catch up with Manny, who was looking at the other vultures that were eyeing them.

"They just sit there," Manny said. "Watching us."

"I wish I knew what they were thinking," Sid whispered to Manny.

"Food," one vulture began to sang. "Glorious food. We're anxious to try it." A female vulture then flew over the gang and they ducked.

"Three banquets a day," she sang. "Our favorite diet!"

"Uh oh..." Casy said. "Run!"

And as the vultures sang their food song, the gang began to run away. Some of them pecked at Sid, and one was trying to eat the possums so they played dead. Ellie grabbed them with her trunk and glared at the vulture.

And Sid, once again, got into trouble. He fell into a mud pit and lucky for him, Diego got him out by putting his paw on a log and pressing on it, making Sid fly out of the pit again.

When they reached a fissure in the earth, the cliff across from them barely close enough to reach. Manny and Diego found a long log and put it across the gap for a bridge. The gang then got on it and began to walk across it. The vultures, though, they flew after the gang making them rush, trying to stay careful enough not to break the log.

They tried to get away from the vultures by getting on a rock and going down a hill but the vultures still flew after them. And they were still after them when the gang had started climbing their way down a valley piled high with rocks.

The vultures pushed down the rocks and the gang had to concentrate on not getting crushed by the avalanche. Manny and Ellie were on big rocks and Diego jumped from one rock to another until he could reach the mammoth's backs. Casy did the same and managed to reach Ellie's back.

Sid was running away from a rock when Manny pulled him out of harm's way and on Diego's back, and then the possums landed on Sid's head, one of them standing on the other's shoulders.

They then fell off an edge but managed to land on tree branch. "There," Manny said to Sid, who was holding onto his tusk. "Now you know what they were thinking."

"Sid, why'd you have to ask?" Casy asked with an exasperated groan. Then the tree branch then broke and they fell to the ground.

"Food!" Sid sang. "Food! Glorious foood!"

"Sid!" Manny and Diego yelled as the gang walked up a hill, which would lead them back to the path to the boat.

"What? It's catchy!" Sid said as he turned his head back around, which he turned around to look at Manny. As the gang stopped walking, they smiled at what was across the dirt path. It was the boat.

"We made it," Diego said.

"Yeah! We showed those vultures!" Sid said and the gang cheered. Casy did a little happy dance and accidentally bumped into Diego, who looked at her oddly. Casy went shy and she backed away from Diego a little, looking at the ground.

Ellie went to walk across the dirt path but yelped and backed away when steam shot up from the ground. A couple of more steam vents showed themselves but Sid just waved his hand.

"Ah, it's just a little hot water and steam," he said. "How bad could it be?"

A bird was hopping along the dirt path when the steam shot up from right under him. He flew up in the sky and then fell down, fried. Sid flinched and Casy looked at him.

"Does that answer your question?"

Manny told the others to follow him as he began to walk out on the dirt path but a steam got in his way, causing him to take a step back. "Manny, get out of there!" Diego said. "It's a mine field out there."

"There's only one way to go," Manny said. He nodded towards the hot steam. "Straight through."

"Straight through?!" Ellie exclaimed. "We'd like to keep the fur on our bodies, thank you. We'll head back and go around."

"No, we don't have time," Manny said as he turned around. "The dam will burst before we'll make it."

"If you go through this, we will get thrown into bits," Ellie argued.

"We go forward."

"We go back."

"Forward!"

"Back!"

"Can I say something?" Casy interrupted.

"No!" Manny and Ellie yelled at the same time, turning their heads sharply at Casy, giving her a look. Casy frowned.

"You are so... stubborn and hard headed!" Manny said.

"Well, I guess that proves it," Ellie said. "I am a mammoth." She then turned around took Crash and Eddie by her trunk and put them on her back as she walked off.

"Um... guys?" Sid said as Manny began to walk towards the dirt path, Casy and Diego following him. "I don't know about this." Sid began to follow but stopped and yelped when a steam vent shot from beside him. He glared at it as he followed Casy and Diego.

Casy and Diego waited for Sid to catch up with them and then they began walking again but stopped when they noticed Manny walking through the dirt path. "He's gonna get himself killed!" Sid said. "Manny, wait! Manny!" But Manny kept walking and in front of him, a geyser shot its hot water with enough pressure to throw the mammoth backwards and knock him out.

"Manny!" Sid yelled as he ran towards him. Casy and Diego followed the sloth and stopped by Manny's head. A few seconds later, Manny opened his eyes and he slowly gained his senses again. Manny got up and began to walk but in the wrong direction, so Diego went around him and pushed him to the left. "That way!"

The four ran to the end of the dirt path and they finally made it. They stopped running and began to slowly walk towards the boat, tired from their long journey. Sid seemed more tired than he should have been, and fell to the ground and began crawling. Casy chuckled at that and helped him up. "You need to get in shape Sid. Come on."

They then ran through the crowd that was heading towards the boat. Sid went with Manny and Casy went with Diego. Manny had them split up so that they could find Ellie and the possums.

"Casy!" a voice said. Casy and Diego stopped looking and turned around. Casy could make out a figure in the crowd and as it got closer to her, Casy realized it was Ross, her father.

"What are you doing here?" Casy glared at the saber and he sighed.

"I know you're upset with me but can't a father make sure that his daughter is okay?" Ross asked smiling at Casy. But Casy just glared at him and he frowned.

"Get out of here," Casy said, turning around and beginning to walk to find Ellie and the possums. "I have better things to do." Diego went to follow her and Ross made them stopped walking by getting in front of him.

"Casy, get on the boat," Ross ordered. Casy laughed, somewhat bitterly.

"Don't try to act like a good father," Casy spat. "You and I both know you're a terrible one."

"I know that and I'm sorry," Ross said. He looked down for a minute or two before he looked back up at Casy. "But I'm going to try to be a good father now. Go to the boat, Casy."

"Not until I find Ellie and the possums," Casy said as she began to walk again but her father blocked her.

"Go to the boat and I'll help your friend here with looking for your friends," Ross said. Casy glared at him.

"Let me through," she said.

"Go to the boat," Ross ordered. Casy didn't move; she just glared at him and Ross began to get frustrated with her. "Casy, just get on the boat!"

"Casy, maybe you shold listen to him," Diego said but Casy refused to pay attention. Ross sighed and shook his head.

"You're just like your mother, you know that?" Ross asked. "It's a shame that she left us. I bet she'd like to see how ungrateful her daughter is. Why do you think I didn't pay attention to you? All you asked for was for me to love you; the love for my daughter. I gave it to you, and you still ran away! Why did you, Casy?"

Casy growled and lifted her paw, her claws coming out of it. "Because," she said simply. Then, she yelled as she scratched her father over his eye,

"YOU NEVER GAVE IT TO ME!!" Ross yelped and jumped back. He looked at Casy as she spoke. "Now, get out of here." Ross didn't say anything; he finally did what Casy told him to do and ran off, heading towards the geysers.

Casy sighed and sheathed her claws. She sat her paw down and looked down for a moment before she looked at Diego, who was staring at her blankly. Casy looked back at the crowd.

"Come on," she said as she began to run in it. "We need to find Ellie and the possums." Diego followed Casy and not far from them, Manny and Sid were walking through the crowd, asking animals if they seen their friends. They shook their heads. Casy and Diego stopped a female ant-eater and Diego asked her,

"Possums; about eleven feet?"

The ant-eater shook her head and continued to walk towards the boat.

"I don't see her!" Manny yelled.

"Maybe she's already on board!" Diego said.

A rock that was on right side of the path to the boat broke and the crowd began to run towards the boat and Manny stayed where he was to make sure that they'd get on the boat, as did Casy, Sid and Diego.

Just then, Crash and Eddie appeared, climbing up Manny's his tail and down onto his tusks.

"Manny! It's Ellie!" Eddie said.

"She's trapped in a cave!" Crash said.

Manny's eyes widened and then he turned around in the crowd, following the twin's directions. Casy and the others noticed Manny leaving and hurried to follow. Manny stopped at a path that was leading them towards the cave. He looked for the cave and he found it but then looked up to see the water rushing its way towards the entrance. Manny began running again and found a rock path that would lead him to the cave but the water rushed across the path causing it to break. Manny and Crash and Eddie fell into the water.

Casy, Sid and Diego stopped, taking a few steps back as pieces of the rock broke. Casy saw the possums and they swam towards a branch and got on it. Sid noticed them too and got ready to dive in to help them.

"I'll save you!" Sid said. He jumped off the rock but landed on a piece of ice, knocking himself out.

"Great!" Crash said sarcastically. "Who's gonna save him?"

As Sid was floating under the branch, Crash used his tail to get a grip on Sid, but ended up grabbing the sloth's upper lip. Sid hung there floating wih his mouth wide open. Eddie grabbed the upper part of Sid's lip too and he said,

"Man, you really need to brush!"

Diego, who saw the possums and Sid were in trouble, went to go jump in the water but his claws stopped him and he groaned. "Okay... jump in... now!" Diego went to jump in the water but he didn't move.

"Diego!" Casy said. "You have to help them!" Casy looked at the three in worry and then at Diego, her ears back.

"Come on, scaredy cat, come on!" Diego muttered to himself. "You can do this, you can do this, you can do this!"

"Trust your instincts," he said to himself. "Attack the water. I am not your prey. I am not your prey. I. AM. NOT. YOUR. PREY!" Diego yelled as he jumped in the water. He surfaced fast and managed to actually swim a bit. He had trouble staying above the water at first, but he worked to get the hang of it.

"Come on! Claw, kick! Claw, kick!" Diego said to himself. "Even babies can do it! Claw, kick! Claw kick!" As he said this, he did what Sid taught him and after a few tries, he was swimming. "Hey! I'm stalking the prey!"

Crash and Eddie, who had let go of the branch, were now floating in the water. Diego caught up with the possums and grabbed Crash's tail, putting his feet on the branches. He swung Crash onto his head and swam after Eddie and Sid.

Eddie and Sid were now underwater and Diego went under too, swimming towards them. Eddie was trying to pull Sid up to the surface but couldn't lift him. Diego put a paw around Sid's neck and swam to the surface, making the sloth wake up. When Diego surfaced, he swam to a rock that he was able to get up on. He put Sid down and nodded his head let Crash slide off. And as Eddie went to Crash and collapsed on him, Diego pulled himself fully out of the water and laid down. They were all panting.

"You did it, buddy." Sid panted. "You kicked water's butt."

"Nothing to it," Diego said, picking his head up. "Most animals can swim as babies, you know." Sid sat up a little and said,

"Yeah but not tigers. I left that part out."

Diego looked at Sid, eyes a little wide. Casy then came running up to them. "Are you okay?" Casy asked. The four nodded and they stood up.

"Oh, Casy!" Crash said. "I saw your father." Casy raised an eyebrow.

"You did?" Crash nodded.

"Yeah but he was in the water with Manny," he answered. Casy frowned and shook her head, but looked a bit unsure.

"He-he just thinks he can make me forgive him by trying to help Manny..." she muttered.

"Well, he didn't look too good. He didn't look conscious and Manny was putting him on a rock." Casy looked at Crash.

"What?" she asked. "Where is he?" Crash pointed towards the left, where in the middle of the water was a rock where Ross lay. He was sliding towards the edge of it, unconscious. Casy gasped and jumped into the water, without thinking.

"Casy!" Diego yelled as he and Sid, along with the possums ran to the edge of the rock. "I thought you were mad at him for what he said!" As Casy swam, having known how to for years, she turned her head to answer.

"Maybe… but he's my father!" she yelled and turned her head back around. She swam towards the rock, although getting pushed back once or twice by the current. She finally got to the rocked climbed on it, just as her father was about to be washed away. She grabbed his paw and pulled him on the rock with her.

Just then, two trunks came up from the water and she recognized it as Manny and Ellie's. When they resurfaced Manny noticed her and her father and he had Ellie swim with him towards her.

"Need a ride?" Manny asked. Casy smiled and helped Ellie put her father on Manny's back. Casy then jumped onto Ellie and they swam towards the other four, who were cheering. When they got to the rock, Sid helped Casy bring her father on the rock and he began to stir as Manny and Ellie climbed out of the water.

"Casy?" Ross asked weakly. Casy smiled and Ross slowly got up. Casy then nuzzled her father. "I'm sorry what I said earlier."

"And I'm sorry for scratching you," Casy said. Ross chuckled.

"We're gonna live!" Sid said happily, throwing his arms in the air. Just then, water began to rise on his ankles and he frowned, putting his arms down. "We're gonna die!" He got to Casy and held onto her.

"Sid, let go!" Casy said.

"Even though you find me smelly sometimes, I was always sort of attracted to you," Sid said.

"Ew." Casy said, her face twisting into a look of disgust. The possums glared at Sid.

"Hey, she's our girl!" Crash said.

"Yeah!"

Just then, the rock that the boat was on broke and then boat fell in the water and began to float. And as the boat floated past by an ice cliff that had a birds nest next to it. On the ice cliff, Scrat was climbing, pushing his acorn into the side to help him climb.

He finally reached the top and put the acorn on in it. There was a cracking noise and a large crack began to go down the ice cliff and into the water, where it made bubbling noises.

The ice cliff then began to break apart. Scrat almost dropped his acorn but he caught it with his foot and held onto the ice cliff with his hands. The squirrel's leg popped into him and part of his other leg but he managed to keep a hold of his acorn. For a moment at least. He then lost his grip of the acorn and then his grip on the ice cliff and fell into the water as it rushed past the ice cliff.

As the water lowered around the gang and the boat, the boat stopped floating and it landed on low rock. The animals filled out of it and the gang walked down a rock path that was near the boat. Everyone cheered, happy to be alive.

"I don't know, I'm thinking about starting a swimming school," Sid said as he, Diego, Casy and Ross walked. "Sid's Squids!" He then noticed something and let out a little yelp, hiding behind Diego poking his head out to see.

Casy, Diego and Ross looked at what Sid was yelling at and below them in a little dirt hole were many mini sloth's in different colors.

"All hail Fire King!" a female sloth said. She then pressed her face to the ground her bow was so deep. The others with her did the same. Diego and Casy gave Sid a weird look as Sid walked out from behind Diego, while Ross just looked confused.

"Uh... Hi," Sid said as he waved. The sloth's then got up and copied Sid in words and actions.

"Fire king avert flood," the female sloth said. "Join us, oh great and noble one." She then bowed and Sid seemed to like the idea since he looked pleased and let out an "Hmm". That's when Diego interrupted.

"Whoa!" he said as he walked towards the edge of the dirt hole. "Not so fast there, okay? You make a quality offer but Fire King has a prior commitment. His herd needs him." Diego walked towards Sid as he spoke. "He is the gooey, sticky stuff that holds us together. He made this herd." Diego turned his head around to look at Sid and smiled at him. "And we'd be nothing without him."

"You mean it?" Sid asked. He then hugged Diego, who tried to stop him and push him away with his paw but he couldn't.

"That doesn't mean 'want to touch'," Diego said. Sid didn't listen; he just continued to hug Diego and the other sloths hugged each other. The rest of the herd came over to them and Manny gave him a questioning look. "Don't ask."

"Casy... may I talk to you?" Ross asked.

"Of course," Casy answered. Ross then began to walk a few feet away from the gang and Casy followed.

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**A/N: I need to start working on Deep Heart if I want to get ahead! I'm a bit behind on the third part and hopefully my co-author and I can work something out. So, what did you think? Please review.**


	17. Hiding Your Love

**A/N:**

**A chapter, from me? :) Hehe, yes! To tell you the truth...this chapter has been written/worked on since July third, after I saw Ice Age 3. XD Hehe.**

**July 3****rd****, (2009)**

**I just got back from going to see **_**Ice Age 3**_** and...it...was...AWESOME! :D Bear in mind, this story is not the third movie. I do not know the dialogue and can't go back at the theaters because it's too expensive; I get to go two times a year and this was the first time this year. I wish I could go back and see it though. It was 'so hackin' awesome!' XD But every now and then you will see one-shots from the movie. If I'm lucky enough maybe there are part one, part two, etc of the third movie. Maybe a transcript and I can try to remember what happens.**

**This story, the next part of the series, is my own original part, along with the help of my wonderful co-writer. ^^ I'm also doing this story because it gives me something to write of **_**Ice Age**_** until the third movie comes out on DVD.**

**And without further ado, here is the story!**

**Summary:**

**Now a herd, the gang is now enjoying their life as the one herd they are. Casy and Diego, now that their feelings are admitted, are consider to actually 'court' but Diego hasn't truly been acting like it, nor has he asked for her paw in courtship. Ellie and Manny are starting their new life as lovers and Sid is just...Sid, with the possums. But a great feeling for Diego enters Casy and she doesn't want to loose him and Diego has the same feeling. Can he push down his pride, ask for Casy's paw in courtship, and admit that he actually has a feeling of love?**

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Casy laid on a rock out in the fields. They were currently staying at a cave, which was too cold for some of them. Casy often laid outside or on a rock to get a little warm. She laid her head on her paws and looked forward, watching the other animals play and chasing each other, her tail swaying back and forth. Some of the animals were adults, male and females, walking side by side, eating together, and drinking together. It was mating season for the animals which meant the animals would try to get a mate, the children would ask their crushes, and the four-legs would consider who to be their mate...not to mention the sloths trying to look 'handsome' for the ladies.

"I'm telling you, Diego; I could pass off as a handsome guy." And speaking of a sloth...

Casy picked up her head and turned it. Sid and Diego were walking along and Sid was eating a green apple. Diego nearly laughed; it was more like a chuckle. "Well, next time you say that, make sure it's to a female." Sid took a bite out of his apple and then saw Casy. He grinned.

"Hi Casy!" Sid said, waving his hand that held the apple. His voice was muffled by the bite he took out of it and some pieces fell out of his mouth. Diego made a face and Casy smiled.

"Hello, Sid," she said softly. It amazed everyone, even Ellie, that Casy could have a soft voice with anyone, especially Sid, even when he was in his annoying moods or if she was just angry with him. She always had a soft voice.

"I'll tell ya," Sid said, taking another bite. "The ladies at the waterhole are hard to impress. I mean, I heard of hard to get, but these ladies...whoo!"

"Hmmm, I wonder why," Casy murmured sarcastically with a smirk, sitting up from the rock.

"A sloth like you, rejected by four female, pretty looking sloths?" Diego's voice was dripping with sarcasm, though Sid didn't seem to notice; he was too busy munching on his apple. "I don't see what's the problem. Do you, Casy?"

Sid looked at the she-saber and his eye twitched. Casy opened her mouth to say a sarcastic remark but closed it when she saw Sid; she didn't want to embarrass him. He couldn't get a mate or a female to like him, so why tease him about it?

"No," she said softly, giving Sid a small smile. "You're a...a..." Casy coughed, putting her paw to her mouth. "You're a...handsome...sloth." Sid grinned and dropped his apple, and then to Casy's disgust, he hugged her around the neck.

"You do love me!" he cried. "You guys really do love me!"

"Umm...yeah..."

"Sure..."

"Now now then," Casy said, using her paw to pull Sid from her but he just hugged her again. "Sid, remember that talk we had after taking Pinky back?" Sid looked at her, a bit confused, his eyes blinking. "About the no touching and hugging distance?"

"Oh, yeah, right." Smiling sheepishly Sid let her go, picked up his apple, and started to eat it while walking off. Casy shook her head, jumping down from the rock. Diego walked towards her as she stretched then shook her head, the feeling of her muscles stretching felt good.

"Where have you been all morning?" Casy asked once they started walking back to the cave.

"Sid dragged me to the waterhole where he tried to impress four out of eight sloths," Diego replied; his ears went back. "He even suggested that he could give me tips on how to woo you."

Casy started bawling with laughter. Sid give flirting tips to Diego? Wooing? That was just too funny for her interest! When she saw Diego's express though she stopped and coughed to cover up her laughter and embarrassment. "Ahem..." she coughed. "Sorry. How did the wooing work out for Sid?"

"Not as good as I even expected," Diego said, a hint of smirk in his eyes and he grinned. "One of them kicked him in the leg and one pushed his head in a pit of mud."

Casy tried not to wince but she did anyhow and felt bad for the sloth. Half of her wanted to laugh at how funny it sounded, but the other half told her to have some sympathy for him. "Poor sloth," Casy said while shaking her head. "It must be hard to not win even the slightest attention of any female." She felt bad for him; she really did.

"Why?" Diego asked, his head tilted and his face expressed in confusion. He obviously was thinking differently than Casy was. "It's fun to see Sid turned down!" Casy gave him a foul look and he raised his eyebrows. "What?" The she-saber rolled her eyes and picked up her pace on walking. "Oh, come on, Casy!" Diego ran to her side and caught up with her. "You've seen how Sid is turned down. Don't you think it's even a little funny?"

"Well..." she trailed off, casting her eyes to the side. Diego grinned, knowing he had her at a spot. He nudge Casy in her front leg and she chuckled. Diego did have a point. A few times had she seen Sid getting rejected and it had been rather humorous. "Oh, alright! I can see what you mean but Diego, Sid has feelings and he had been nothing but kind to us, even when we weren't kind to him. Don't you think that you should show him a bit more kindness than you already do, and maybe a bit more respect?"

Diego said nothing and Casy knew that she had him hook in. He glanced at her, she raised her eyebrows, and Diego looked back down at the ground, taking a sudden interest in his paws. Casy left one eyebrow raised and waited for him to answer, but no sound from his lips escaped. She sighed after waiting for a moment or two. "Look," she said. "I'm not asking for you to fake it; you do whatever you want, I have no control over that. But you should at least be a little more nice to him; because, without him, this herd would be nothing."

Diego lifted his head to speak but Casy was already walking across from him and then ran off into the fields, disappearing in the tall grass. Diego sighed and stopped in his tracks, staring off in the distance. He had stopped at a thin, tall tree full of apples and fruits. Manny was standing by it, picking the fruit for him, Ellie, Sid, and the possums, but Diego didn't notice him.

"She's right, you know," a familiar voice spoke behind the saber. He turned, a bit surprised. Manny held apples, pieces of grapes, and other fruits on his trunk. "Without Sid...well, who knows where we all would of ended up."

"You agree with her?" Diego asked, blinking his eyes. He didn't believe it; one of his best buddies was agreeing to the other saber. Manny shrugged.

"You know it's true, Diego," he said to his friend. "You just don't want to admit it." Diego scoffed but looked away. Perhaps..."Sid told me." Diego looked up, looking confused as ever. "About you and Casy, getting together." And Manny actually grinned. "I knew you two would get together."

"We're not together!"

"I saw you- you and Casy were nuzzling."

"We were not," Diego instantly disagreed, maybe a little too quickly. "We were...uh...Casy was upset and so...she put her head under my chin and I was hugging her." Not the best excuse he ever tried but it was something, though Manny was not convinced and it took all Diego's good will not to looked down or away to advert his gaze from his friend.

"Diego," Manny started. "You've been hiding around the bushes for way too far now. It's no secret that you have feelings for Casy, I see the way you look at her. But nothing will happen if you don't make a movie, pal, and she'll get tired of waiting. Then you'll loose what you have always want."

Diego took in Manny's words but he seemed a bit confused by what he said last. "You don't know what I want, what I had always want."

"No," Manny shook his head. "But I can see it in your eyes, Diego. When you look at Casy, I see something in your eyes and I know what exactly you want."

"And what's that?" Diego questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"A family." Diego's face softened. Manny looked at him for a moment and then walked off. He was right, long had Diego longed to have a family and he had that. He had a family, until humans invaded his pack and killed most of them. He wasn't in love or anything but it was his family and he didn't think that he could loose his family all over again if he were to have one. But he had to try to pick back up and though he didn't agreed, he knew he had feelings for Casy...he just needed to find them. And he knew just the guy that could help him.

"Oh, Sid!"

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**A/N: OOOOOH! ICE AGE 3 IS GOING TO GO OUT TO DVD!!!! WHOO! I loved the movie so much, it was better than the other two I must say. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter.**

**NOTE: Co-author position for my other Ice Age story is up. I'm going to re-write it (Casy won't be in it). Anyone wants to be the co-writer for it?**

**Also, I have an Deep Heart forum; feel free to go to it and join.**

**Please review!**


	18. Diego Finds Out

**A/N: Whoo! Ice Age 3 went out to DVD on Tuesday! ^^ I'm getting it on Friday; now I'll be able to work on a little on that other Ice Age story, and I have a co-writer for it! On another note...I helped my mom bring the trash barrels to the side of the house and slipped on the tile floor and fell on the floor. I hurt my elbow (pretty badly) and I hurt my leg a little. Yes, I am a klutz (I even tripped up the stairs two times in the same month) but yeah...anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and for this part of the story, it is mostly based on from the roleplays me and my friends did. But it's still writing. ^^**

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Casy woke up close to dawn, a couple of hours before. She moaned and shook her head, looking to the side. Sid was sound asleep, in a very weird position, Manny was asleep and as was Diego...it seemed like he had gotten handsome from the past three years. Casy once again had a dream about her father...about her pack. She let out a sigh, stood up, and quietly walked a few feet away from them and sat on a rock and pondered her thoughts.

Crash rotated his body, now facing North, he scratched his nose and let out a loud, surprising, snore. Which, in turn, woke up Diego. Startled, he snapped his eyes open and was about the yawn, if he hadn't seen Casy sitting in the moonlight. It was stricking her face, so perfectly.

He stretched his paws out and walked quietly over to Casy. Sitting down; he gave a little yawn; not startling Casy in the slightest way.

She had to chuckle but didn't look at him. She knew if she did she wouldn't be able to pull away. "I suppose you can't go a night without waking up to either Crash or Sid?" she teased.

Diego yawned, yet again, and smirked. "What can I say, I'm a pretty light sleeper. What about you?"

Casy didn't answer. She couldn't tell him; would he understand? Certainly not. "Uh..." Casy trailed off, looking around. "What do you plan on doing later on?"

Diego raised an eyebrow at Casy, she was sure acting strange. "Well, I was going fishing when the sun raises..." he said while looking at her. Her facial expression didn't change. "Why the sudden change in topic?" he prodded her.

"N-No reason!" she said instantly, though she stuttered a little. She cleared her throat. "Um...ah...maybe you should go to sleep. You'll need all the energy you'll can have; Sid might join you." She then chuckled and turned her head towards him to give him a smile.

Diego yawned for the third time that night and smiled, lightly, back. "I guess I'll have to sneak off while he still is asleep, huh?" Believing Casy's reason; of course he would, he trusted her.

"Tsk tsk, tiger," Casy had to tease at his yawning. "You're tired and need sleep. I can stay up late and not get tired. Are you sure I'm the male and you're the female?" She smirked, knowing full well Diego did not liked it when he was called a girl. It was quite a tease.

Diego growled and wanted to wrestle her, but it was too early in the morning to do that. "I'm just tired from having to put up with Sid. That can tire anybody out, especially if you get him in large doses..." he smirked, knowing she was teasing him.

"Too tired to wrestle around? Why, Diego, it seems that you're a lkitty cat," Casy gave him a smirk and jumped off the rock and walked past him, flickering her tail under his chin. It was considered as a flirt and in a way, Casy was flirting with him. She had mixed feelings for Diego that were hard to say. Sid teased her about it.

Diego's face flushed as her tail trailed under his chin and she walked away. He mumbled something under his breath and got up to follow her. "Want to join me when I go fishing?"

"Hmmm..." she trailed off, stopping at another rock and jumped on it. Next to it was a log, leading to a lake. "I'm not sure. You know how Sid easily annoys me and...well...I don't want to be seen with a kitty either." She smirked, loving how she could be on the roll of teasing him. But being anywhere near him, let alone fishing or being alone with him, it made her feel like she was in love with the guy. She couldn't be really.

He followed her steps, landing on the log that Casy was next too. Diego only smirked until the part about him being a 'kitty', suddenly his smirk turned into a frown. "Well, if you need me, I'll be using my 'kitty liter'." He jumped off, rock to rock, until he stopped abruptly and turned. "If you do change your mind, I'll be at the lake a little after dawn."

Casy gave him a half of a smile. "I'll keep that in mind," she said before turning and going back to the rock she was sitting on previously. She laid against it and looked out at the valley, finding the view beautiful as her tailed swayed back and forth on the ground. Hopefully Diego would keep the subject of her not sleeping at bay; she really didn't think that he could understand her. But then again...she did told him about her pack and father when they were bringing Pinky back. And he did saved her a couple of times. She should really pay him back.

Diego walked slowly back to camp, thinking about what he said to Casy. Hopefully, she didn't think he was mad at her... Crawling over the laying bodies that were scattered about; he finally made it back to his spot.

Crash had been up for about thirty minutes now, waiting for both sabers to come back, but only one returned. Getting ansy, he scrambled over to his brother; shaking Eddie's shoulders trying to wake him up.

Eddie snored mixed with snort in his sleep and rolled on his side, his tail swatting at his brothers face and continued on with his sleep.

Crash sighed and pushed Eddie, yet again. He needed to tell his brother something; he thought Diego did someting bad to Casy. Diego lightly snored as he rolled over on his side, facing away from the two brothers, who were annoying him.

Eddie ignored his brother...until he felt a hit on his head. That woke him up and sat up, yelling and rubbing his head. He looked and saw it was his brother glared at him. "What did ya do that for?!"

Crash snorted and crossed his arms over his upper torso. "For one, you were ignoring me. I need to tell you something, very important!" he whsipered harshly towards his brother.

Eddie sighed, rubbing his eyes but he was awake now. "Fine, go ahead so I can go back to sleep."

Crash leaned in towards his brother's ear. "I think Diego did something to our Casy..."

That perked him up right away. "What?!" he exclaimed, jumping right up and felt anger towards the saber. He looked at Diego then at Crash. "What makes you say that?" But he knew his brother wouldn't tease about this. For one, it was early and they both loved Casy and always fought over her.

Crash coughed and stood up, marching back and forth, "For one, Diego followed Casy out of the cave... then, Diego got back, but not Casy. I have a feeling something happened to her." he replied. He wouldn't tease his brother, at least about this.

"We gotta go find her!" Eddie said and was already running, yelling Casy's name. But she was already walking at the entrance of it and Eddie squealed, hugging her leg. "Casy!"

"Shhh!" she said in a whisper, careful not to wake the others up.

Crash followed Eddie close behind, trying to get tail to tail with him. When Casy entered the cave, he did the same thing his brother did; "Casy!" he squealed, just after Eddie did, hugging her other leg. "Where were you!? You had us worried! We thought the kitty-cat did something bad to you!"

"Huh?" It took a moment to realize that they thought..."What? No! You should know that Diego wouldn't do anything to any of his friends...though I'm not sure about you two." She gave them a smirk and tried to pull herself free. "Um...okay, you can let go now." But they didn't seem to. "Guys, you can let go of me...guys!"

Crash held on to Casy's leg, tighter and tighter every time she tried to pull away. "Hey! Diego may hurt anyone, you never know." he gave Eddie a look and opened his mouth, again. "Hey you heard my Casy, let go of her."

"You let her go first! She's mine; my Casy."

"I said, let go guys," she made sure that 'guys' made it to their ears. "As in, the both of you."

Casy sighed, seeing as both of them weren't willing to let go. She tried walking but had to dragged them across the cave, until she got to Diego, who seemed awake. "Hey," she said to him. "Do you think you can give me a paw here?"

Diego snorted as he looked at the sight before him; Casy was standing there, a pleading look on her face. While the two possums hung from her legs; fighting about who should let go first. He smiled widely, "Looks like you got some fans there, Princess." He tugged on both of the possum's tails. It only took two tries to get both off.

Casy ears went back at the name 'Princess' and frowned but gave him a nod of thanks for his help. Her title as a princess wasn't really in her mind anymore, she didn't cared for the life of being a princess and never did. Of course it was meant as a tease, the possums did not know about it and they were...well...

"You're a princess?!" Eddie yelled, his eyes wide with amazement and his jaw dropped. He got down on his knees and took her paw and kissed it repeatedly, more than enough. "I bow to your wise-ness, great and pretty one!"

Diego immediately regretted calling Casy 'princess', as one of the possums kissed Casy's paw and the other stood there, utterly shocked. Crash realized what his brother was doing and pushed him over, taking over what Eddie was doing. Trying to protect Casy, Diego opened his mouth; "It's just a nickname that only I, call her Ed and Ted, or whatever your names are." Then Diego growled adding the point to his little 'spiel.'

Eddie instantly pushed Crashed aside and resumed to what he was doing, but when Diego growled he stopped instantly and stepped back, holding up his hands. "Heh..." he trailed off before zooming off to his still sleeping sister, grabbing Crash as he ran. Casy let out a laugh but looked at Diego and smiled.

"Thank you, Diego," she said softly, looking into his green eyes for a moment.

Diego let out a loud chuckle as the two raced off towards their sister. "Any time Pr--Casy." He smiled softly towards her. Looking into her green eyes, he felt like he could stare at them for hours, but he took them away once he felt his face gaining heat. "Anyways, better get to sleep."

"Right..." Casy trailed off, though she didn't really wanted to leave and go to sleep. She rather stay with Diego and talk with him. But she turned and walked off to her spot, which wasn't far from Diego. A few inches behind him. She laid down and placed her head on her paws and closed her eyes.

"Night...Diego," Casy murmured, instead of calling him 'tiger' or 'kitty'. She would have to talk to him about her dream; maybe he would understand. After all, he did lost his pack and did kind of left his other one to join her and Manny and Sid.

Diego watched Casy close her eyes and her breath coming out of her mouth softly. He sat there, closing his eyes and still he couldn't fall asleep. He stretched his paws outwards and walked towards the cave entrance. He watched the sun raise above the hill that was right infront of him. He was so entranced in the sun raise he didn't notice Sid, sneaking up behind him.

"Hiya buddy!" Sid chirped happily. He couldn't but help but hear what Casy and Diego had spoken about from outside and inside. He was already away by Crash and Eddie and just laid there. Then, he added, "You love her, don't you?"

Diego nearly screamed when he heard Sid's voice, but covered his mouth with his left paw. He turned, sharply and saw Sid was laying by Crash and Eddie. He growled at him as he heard him mumbled something, but he could still make it out. His face gained heat again, but chose to ignore Sid's comment and walked to the lake to fish.

"Hey!" Sid called. "Wait up!" Sid followed him and walked by his side. "So, where are we going, buddy ol' pal? Don't you want to bring Casy with you? I'm sure you would love to spend time with your 'mate'." Sid winked.

Diego turned towards Sid and swiped at him, but Sid ducked. Diego growled and walked faster than Sid, "Why don't you go sleep with your 'mate'? Wait, you don't have one, and Casy is not my 'mate'." Diego hissed at Sid, knowing that Sid was just poking fun at him, but still. He reached the edge of the lake and stationed himself there; waiting for a fish to swim by.

Sid huffed, placing his hands on his hips but followed Sid. "Well, wait a minute, buddy," Sid said, catching up with Diego. "Don't you like Casy? I thought you loved her...wasn't it before Manny and Ellie got together that you and Casy nuzzled, hmmm?" Sid had a sly smile on his face. "And that time she licked your cheek. I think she likes you."

Diego slashed at the water at the memory of him and Casy.

...nuzzling and her

...licking his cheek.

Diego's face flushed, making his fur look like pink cotton candy. Diego wouldn't give up that easily, if he did tell someone about his...his 'feelings' it would be himself before anyone else. "I don't remember, sorry Sid." waiting for another fish, seeing the last fish was scared off by his slashing.

"Oh, surely you do," Sid frowned. "You nuzzled her back and...she-she licked your cheek and you..." he grinned. "Wait, didn't you lick her back...or..." Sid trailed off, trying to think. "Well, you nuzzled her and you didn't seem to mind. You like her, simple as that. I know a certain lady that has been secretly liking you for some quite time." Sid sat on a rock beside Diego and laid on it, feeling quite proud of himself.

Diego's cotton candy fur seemed to get brighter at the mere thought of those memories. He ignored Sid and slashed at a fish, catching it with one paw. He gnawed at the raw fish as Sid sat there, disgusted.

"Ewww!" Sid said, shivering with disgust. "Now, buddy...I know you don't like lovey dovey stuff but...don't you like Casy, more than a friend, even a little?"

Diego kept at his fish until all that was left was the bones of the fish. He pounded his chest with his paw, letting a giant belch out right in Sid's face. He grinned widely as Sid's face twisted. "Casy is my friend, if I have feelings towards her... I won't tell you, you've got a big mouth."

"You know," Sid wagged a tail at him. "You're just doing that so I can think you're unappealing even for Casy and she's your type of animal! You know...she said something about you yesterday," Sid picked up a pine cone and started to eat it. "And it's was really cute, really sweet. Casy is just your friend, huh? Buddy, nuzzling your friend is not being a friend, it's being a lover." Sid chuckled himself.

Diego's ears perked up. "What did she say about me?" Ignoring Sid's comment about 'not being a friend, but a lover' spiel.

"Oh, I don't know if I should say," Sid said, his mouth full of the pine cone and took another bite. "I mean...you're denying you have feelings for Casy and telling you what she said about you...it wouldn't really be fair for her." But he tossed the pine cone and got off the rock. "She said she likes you and has...'certain' feelings for you. Not to mention that she'd been having these nightmares. Something about her pack...or was her father? No...no...ummm...her childhood? Her brother?"**

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Diego's ears flattened against his head. She was lying to him? But why? "What?"**

**A/N: So, what do you think? Please review!**


	19. In A Cave During A Thunderstorm

**A/N: Yup. An update. ^^ I wanted to tell you that Deep Heart has it's own website! Please do go to the link on my profile. :)**

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Sid looked up at his friend. "What?" he noticed that he seemed upset and he winced. "Uh oh...Casy is going to kill me."

Diego looked at Sid. "So now your her new best friend or something? She doesn't trust me does she?" he huffed and grumbled tiredly. "You know what? I'm going for a walk." Diego got up and started walking towards the woods.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sid ran in front of Diego and stopped him. "Hold it, buddy. Casy trusts you but...well, she woke up a couple of nights ago and she was crying. I had her tell me what was wrong and she told me about her dream. She actually wanted to tell you, Diego, but she thinks you won't understand. But I'm sure you will. I mean, you lost your family...you left your pack for us...you killed your leader, kind of. You refuse to love and have a family..."

Diego growled, "You don't ever know the half of it 'lil buddy'." he mocked Sid's voice and ran off into the woods.

Sid sighed, feeling disappointed. Casy, meanwhile, didn't wake up until the afternoon and found Sid, sitting at the river, throwing pebbles into the river. She walked up to him. "Where's Diego?" He jumped with a yell and stood up.

"I...uh...well..." Casy knew that well, he was stuttering and it usually meant that he had done something that she asked him not to do. She groaned; he must of told Diego about her dream.

"You didn't!" she hissed and then ran off, easily finding his tracks and went into the wood he appeared to of have gone in. "Diego!" she called. "Diego, where are you?"

Diego sat at the very edge of a cliff that he had found earlier that week. Sighing, he wished he was somewhere else right now, at the edge of the opposing cliff; maybe?

Who knows only he. Hes been sitting on the cliff for about three hours, just staring into the deep blue sky that was rolling with thunder.

It started to rain and Casy often got sick in the rain, not to mention it brought her bad memories. She shivered, remembering back but held herself at bay from the sadness and tears. She ran more around the woods, looking for Diego and calling for him. "Diego!" she called. "Diego!" Casy stopped and saw Diego, sitting on a cliff not far from her. "Diego!" She shuddered. Was the rain and the memories that bad? They did do some damage to her when she was younger and they still carried with her.

Diego, soaked to the bone, turned to see a soaked Casy, screaming his name. "What?" he snapped to her, his eyes blazing with such intensity.

"I'm sorry!" Casy yelled a few minutes later. She started her way to Diego, climbing on rocks and running up the small hill, though she slipped a couple of times. When she got there, she shuddered again, remember at the times her father used to beat her and even put her outside in the rain, where she would get ill. She remembered, her mother left, when it was raining. And she let out a cry and pushed herself against Diego's chest and just cried, hoping he wouldn't push her away. "I...I didn't think you would understand, but I wanted to tell you...I just didn't think you would understand me."

Diego's back suddenly straightened when he felt the new found pressure on his chest to be none other than, Casy. He laid a paw on her back and patted it softly; unsure what to do. "I'm sorry." he apolgized, "I was more mad at myself then you Casy, I swear."

"It's not that," Casy said and paused for a moment. "Okay, it was partly that but...that's not it." She realized the position she was in and instantly pulled back in embarrassment and her ears went back.

Diego sniffed the air, "Do I smell that bad?"

Casy smiled. "No, it's not that. It's just-" She was interrupted with another shudder and she looked down.

Diego noticed her shudder and wrapped a paw around her shoulder; a friendly gesture. "What's wrong? You can tell me, I promise I won't laugh or nothin'."

Casy smiled weakly. "When...when I was young...my mother left my pack, my father...me when I was just a cub. It was raining out and...well, I often got hurt by my father and it would always be raining. I had got another bruise from him when my mother left...and it was raining. I...I suppose the memory never left."

Diego gave Casy a strong smile. "Don't worry Casy, I'll never let anyone, or anything harm you... ever again." Lightning flashed in the background as Diego leaned forward,

Casy's breath caught in her throat as he leaned, his face closer towards her; almost close to where he could either nuzzle or lick her cheek or to even kiss her. She trusted him though, with all her heart she did. She...loved him. Did she really? Had she fallen for Diego? Yes. She loved him but couldn't say so; she needed to know if he liked, maybe love her back. Casy leaned in, placed her head under his chin, and nuzzled him.

Diego's face heated up, but not quite a blush, more like a fever. He gently nuzzled Casy back as the rain pounded harder against his back, making his 'fever' worse.

Casy herself did not feel any good as Diego was feeling. For one, there was the rain, her shuddering and shivering, and her memories but not to mention that she gets really sick after being in the rain. Her ears went back as she felt a cough coming up but pushed it back.

After a moment, she pulled away and looked up at Diego's face. "We should get going before we get sick."

Diego nodded to her statement. Getting up from his spot, he waited for Casy. Feeling slightly dizzy, he walked two steps and stepped back three, feeling more dizzy that he thought he was.

Casy noticed. How could she not? She could tell when someone was dizzy and instantly went to his side and helped him down. Once they managed to get down, it was pouring rain, harder than before. It only caused more coughs to come up and Casy couldn't hold them back. There was thunder and then lightening, which hit a tree and caused some barks to break and fell in front of them. Casy yelped, stepping back.

"We won't be able to make it back to the herd!" she yelled over the rain. "We have to find some sort of cave or something!"

Diego wheezed out in agreement, a few coughs erupted from his throat as he walked towards some trees in the grove.

Casy saw a cave nearby and pushed Diego towards it, staying at his side and helped him. "Come on!" she said. Moments later they entered the cave. It was rather big, big enough for them and half of the herd. But what was surprising that Sid was there, starting a fire. He looked up and smiled.

"Oh!" he said, waving his hand. "Hello guys."

"But-What-How-Why..." Casy shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

"Manny sent me looking for you guys," Sid answered, standing up and brushing off the leaves and dirt off of him. "I saw you guys from a distance and went in here when it started to rain."

Once they were in the cave, Diego fell down on his stomach, wheezing; trying to breath. He couldn't help it, sometimes this happened with him and cold weather, who doesn't? Covering his face with his paws, he opened his mouth, "Great, just what I need... Sid."

"I'll be silent as a bee." With that being said, Sid made a motion of zipping his lips and then sat down. Casy wasn't so sure if he would keep his mouth shut but she shrugged and laid beside Diego, allowing the warmth of the fire to heat her and the saber up.

Diego scooted closer towards Casy, draping an arm around her waist to bring her closer. "Cold?" he whispered, huskily into her ear.

Casy didn't even noticed then tone of his voice but did lean and placed her chin on his paws. "A bit," she said in a murmur. She then shiver, answering Diego question. Sid looked over at Casy and Diego and opened his mouth to say something cute or coo but remembered what he said and knowing Diego is probably really irritated, he shut his mouth and stroked the fire.

Diego's eyes fluttered. Welcoming slumber, he slowly closed his eyes into a restful sleep.

Casy was asleep afterwards, just comfortable laying like that by Diego. Sid looked over at them once more and had to smile. He knew they liked each other, maybe even love. He would really have to chat to Diego about that, maybe with Manny too.

As Sid sat around the campfire, Diego and Casy slept quietly... that is until dawn. A small 'person' scrambled in the cave. "Casy!" It shrieked, jumping ontop of the female saber, "I missed you soooo much!"

Casy was in a deep sleep, dreaming about no other than Diego. Often she would have dreams when she had a good day with him or thought about him quite a lot. She was woken up, however, when she and Diego were about to kiss.

She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, finding herself still in the position with Diego. She looked up, feeling something light on her back. "Huh?" Casy asked, her voice groggily. She blinked and then, without lifting her head, knew who it was. "Crash? What are you doing here?" She was still cold and a bit damp and shivered and snuggled closer towards Diego without realizing that.

Diego snored ratherly loudly and snuggled closer to Casy, because she had shivered. Crash sat ontop of the saber's back, "Me, Manny, Ellie, and Eddie were all looking for you three! We thought you got blown away by the gusty wind last night!"

Casy chuckled, smiling weakly. "We're fine," she said. "But, I can't believe I'm going to say this, thanks for your concern." She coughed a bit. She hoped she wasn't getting sick and was surprised that Crash wasn't acting jealous by her actions and the sweet position she was in with Diego.

Crash, finally, noticed Diego and noticing the position his Casy and the kitty were in. "Are you two an 'item' now or somethin'?" Crash asked out of jealousy. Diego snorted and looked at Crash with drooped eyes. "Where did you come from anyways?" Suddenly, as Crash was about to answer he was tackled off my none other than his brother, Eddie. Manny and Ellie slowly, but surely, followed into the small cave. Seeing as they couldn't fit in they laid down outside the cave entrance, watching Eddie and Crash fight over who Casy 'belonged' to.

Diego had about enough from the two little rascals as he showed, 'roaring' at them. That caught everyone's attention. "Casy doesn't beling to anyone, but herself. Now, STOP." Diego rolled over on his side, coughing along the way.

Casy silently thanked him and slowly got up. She didn't feel at that great and her head was pounding but she got up. She then, doing her part, hit Crash and Eddie upside their heads. "Will you two stop it?" she asked. "Can you just go with one day without fighting over me?"

Eddie looked at his brother and he seemed to actually consider it. "She does have a point, bro..." he trailed off and then stood up straighter, his arms crossed. "But only if Crash agrees that you're mine!"

Crash shook his head. "Never!" He tackled his brother to the ground. While rolling around, the seemed to bump in Diego's back, which in turn made Diego very, very, unhappy. "Will you two ever stop fighting!? Especially over Casy, dear god!" he slowly got up and walked over to Sid; which surprisingly was the only one NOT talking... "Somethin' up 'buddy'?" he jabbed Sid in the side, trying to get his attention.

Sid blinked, looking forward, his attention fully on Manny and Ellie. He wailed, however, when Diego poked him, putting his arms in front of his face. "Don't hurt me!" he then noticed it was Diego and sighed in relief. "Oh, sorry. Buddy?" He seemed confused. "I thought I wasn't your buddy from yesterday."

He glanced at Casy, who seemed to had the the possums settled down...while grasping on their tails, upside down. But the two were trying to hit each other.

Diego sighed, "I had to get your attention with something and when the 'buddy' thing didn't work I jabbed you in the side 'buddy'." Diego was still slightly irritated from yesterday, but understood why she told Sid before she told him. Still, it hurt more than she knew. Diego stared at Casy with a blank, daydreaming stare.

She was so beautiful, so strong; she could take on anyone with no help, but of course, people do need help sometimes. Especially, since she had a hard past with no one treating her like a real saber, a real one; not a princess.

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**A/N: So, what did you think? Please review!**


	20. Trevor

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, guys; it means a lot to me. :) So, thank you for the reviews and maybe, if you're good, I'll make a Christmas special- story or...**

**A ANIMATED MOVIE! Well, not necessary a animated movie but it will be drawings and voice over's for it. Kind of like a animated movie; in fact, I know a person who can make animated stuff so I'm gonna ask him if he can help me. So, to vote which you want, go to my profile and vote by the poll.**

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Often Casy and Diego would go out to hunt together, or even go fishing. Sid would often make a comment or remark that they love each other or that they should be mates, which would annoyed Diego greatly but he managed to keep his cool. They walked along the fields, discussing what was the best meat to eat when there was a twig snapping heard. They halted and looked towards at the bush to the side. They could easily see one of Sid. Diego growled silently, "Sid!"

Sid squeaked which was enough for Casy to hear. She thought she should save Sid, just this once. She stood up and nudged Diego. "How about we take a walk?" she suggested.

Diego only growled at Sid, "When I find you," he dragged a clawed finger across his throat, "your dead."

Casy bit her lip to stop laughing. "Oh, you don't mean that," she said, glancing at a rock and knew Sid was peaking out. She gave the rock a look that told Sid to run. "Now, lets go..." Casy pushed Diego forward and they started walking. "Okay, I admit, I'll get him for that too but, hey, curiosity kills a sloth, though not literally."

Diego growled and jumped forward, going towards the trees. "Gods, I swear that he wasn't a sloth, but a rat... Sneaking around so silently... Eavesdropping..."

"Diego," she said softly. "If you were Sid and just thought you're two friends were good for each other and they go on a walk together, wouldn't you follow? Sid's just curious to know."

Diego growled again, "I would never do that. It's called privacy Casy, privacy."

"Diego," Casy said. "If Sid were to be charming a sloth up, wouldn't you be curious to know if she would push him or consider him? Of course...he can't charm a female, but still."

Diego rolled his eyes. "I would never, like I said before, privacy."

"Oh, I know you would," Casy teased him. She nuzzled his face to make him feel a little better, knowing that Diego couldn't object to that. It worked.

Diego growled softly, and then blushed feeling Casy nuzzle him. "I wouldn't."

Casy looked up at him, a slight smirk on her face. "Oh really?" she asked. "If Sid were to manage to win the heart of a female sloth...though it is a funny idea since we're talking about Sid, wouldn't you be curious to know if he disgusted her or not?"

Diego turned his head and breathed out hot breath, leaving the air to become moist and his breath to be noticed. The white air circled and slowly dissipated. "Like I said before, privacy. I would never do that; butting into other people's lives is not my thing Casy." He could feel the cold air run up and down his fur, it gave him an uneasy feeling; something was up.

Casy's ears twitched. She looked at Diego; he seemed stiff. He sensed something as well. Casy glanced to the side, where she could see shadows behind the trees. "Lets go this way," Casy said, pushing Diego to the side.

Diego was up in time for him to chase after Casy for a moment; the sudden chill in the air ran down his spine. He took in a deep breath, something bad was about to happen; he could feel it. He wondered if Casy felt the same way. He glanced over at the female saber as his ears flattened against his head. Then again, what if he had miss-read the signals and she only wanted to go for a walk? He took the chance.

"Did you feel it too?" He shook his head, his ears flopping about, "chilly ain't it?"

"It is," Casy agreed, glancing around. She shuddered against the wind, finding it becoming a bit cold. "Perhaps we should go to the cave." The cave was the gang's home for now. They traveled a lot, so for now the cave was their home.

"Yes, lets." Diego replied, his fur standing on end. Suddenly, the crack of a twig snapped from behind him; he let out a defending roar and stepped in front of Casy. Showing his razor sharp teeth, he watched the bushes move and swag suddenly a four legged creature stepped out—another saber.

The saber's teeth clenched together and swiftly narrowed his eyes. A smirk was placed on the tanned creature. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? A princess and a commoner? Diego no less."

Diego let out an ear piercing roar as the saber took a step in advance. Mimicking him, Diego also took a step forward and got down in the attack position.

"Leave here now, before I'm forced to attack." The younger saber laughed at Diego's threat and got in the attack form as well.

"Bring it on bodyguard."

Casy's eyes widened. She knew who that was! But what was he doing here? What did he want? Her ears went back, but anger entered her. No doubt he was sent by her father; but did she not objected to going to her pack once more?

"Diego," she hissed. "Back down. You don't need to fight him."

Diego let out a low growl as he backed off slowly. The saber's mouth turned into a 'U'; he was smiling.

"You are wrapped around the princess's paw aren't you? Poor Diego," Diego roared and his claws retracted as he got into a defensive stance.

Casy, however, jumped in front of Diego and got in a defense position, snarling at the other saber; she made sure her teeth were showing. "What do you want?" she growled. "I thought my father accepted my decision on staying with my herd?"

The saber sat on his rear end and looked at his sparkly clean claws. "Father didn't send me, uncle did." He spoke in a monotone, not missing an intense moment.

Uncle? What would he want? "And what exactly does Uncle want?" Casy snarled.

The saber laughed mockingly. "Something about you becoming someone's mate, somewhere along the lines of Gerard or something," he looked at his claws again and speculated about speaking. "He also wants you to help me find someone because 'I am to old' to not have a mate." The young saber grinned mischievously. Diego snarled and dug his claws into the soil.

"Casy isn't going anywhere."

"And why is that commoner?"

"Because I already have a herd; I don't need a mate." Casy glared at her brother. "You take your sharp claws and your big ball of pride and leave." Casy turned, walking towards Diego and next to him.

The saber sighed, "Can you at least help me find someone? Returning to my heard without a mate is going to be a hard time, especially with uncle."

"And why would I help you when you haven't helped me, even when I was little?" Casy asked. "You didn't paid attention to me, you didn't acknowledged me. You're exactly like father and Uncle; very full of it. So cocky..." Casy shook her head.

The young saber looked hurt, and well, he possibly wasn't expecting that from his own flesh and blood. "What about when I helped you when you were pushed down by those other male sabers in our heard, and how I helped you through that? Being bullied isn't fun, I know how it feels." The saber looked down, no longer did the cocky smile erge itself upon his face; he was truly and general sad.

"I could've helped you, but do you know what it would mean for me? I would have been banned; father threatened me about it." His face turned dark and his eyes looked hollow.

Diego looked between the two sabers that stood infront of him; were they related? Suddenly, he felt a pang of guilt. This was her brother, wasn't it?

"What was more important?" Casy asked, her voice now soft. "Me...or being banned from your herd? Me...the one who was always punished for little things, for the things I didn't do." Casy's face softened; she saw that he was truly, truly sad. Casy eyed the saber before sighing. "Fine. I'll help you."

The saber's face lit up and like a little child on Christmas he tackled her to the grounded and licked her face. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Awkward position..."

The young male saber was then bopped on the head. Eddie. He had jumped on his head and was jumping on his head, grunting. "Get away from my girl!"

He growled and looked at the possum, "Why you--," he kept his anger under control. "What the heck?" he asked, pulling the possum off of him. Casy pushed the saber from her and got up and looked at Diego, raising an eyebrow as Eddie tried to wrestle the saber.

Trevor pushed the little possum away and grinned. "I don't wanna hurt ya' buddy, and I'm certainly not going to 'steal' your Casy. I'm her brother, Trevor, pleased to meet you. I've never seen a possum until now."

"This is Eddie," Casy said slowly. "There's another one, Crash. And this," Casy nodded to Diego. "Is Diego. Diego, Eddie, this is my brother."

Trevor grinned, ear to ear. "Pleasure possum."

Eddie looked at the saber. "You got longer teeth than Diego does."

"That's because he's older," Casy told the possum

"I am old, aren't I?" Trevor snickered to himself as he licked his tanned coat. "So, when do we start?" Diego raised an eyebrow.

"As soon as you find a female saber, moron." Trevor glared at Diego, but held in the come back.

"Ha ha, very funny Diego," Eddie mocked as he climbed on Trevor's head. Trevor raised his eyebrow and looked up.

"And what're doing?"

"I believe he thinks your his friend," Casy smirked. "Have fun carrying him around."

Trevor looked at his sister with a look that bore into her. "Great, " he said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Casy and Diego took Trevor to the cave, where the gang were. Sid yelped once he saw Trevor. "Ah!" he screamed. "A saber!" Sid hid behind Manny. "Protect me Manny!"

Trevor glanced at the green-moldy thing that hid behind the towering mammal; he shrunk back. "I'm not going to eat you." Trevor raised an eyebrow and looked at Casy.

"Calm down," Casy said. She sighed. "This is my brother. Trevor, this is Sid," she nodded to Sid. "This is Manny," she nodded to Manny, "his mate, Ellie, and her brother Crash. Eddie is her brother as well, as known as the possum on your head."

Trevor nodded at each of them, "Pleasure is all mine."

Sid smiled. "I didn't know you had a brother Casy."

Casy smiled sheepishly. "Oh...you know...it slipped from my mind..."

Sid gave her 'the look', "I don't think so young lady," he scowled. Trevor chuckled. Casy glared at Sid and snarled at him, to which he yelped and hid behind Manny. Trevor laughed, along with Diego.

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**A/N: So, how did you like it? Please review.**


	21. Lily, The Saber

**A/N: I know! I haven't updated in a while. I'm very sorry. On another note, Christmas is almost here! As a thank you to my loyal reviewers I am going to write up a short animation of Deep Heart for you guys to enjoy. Christmas like too! And along with a one-shot. Or maybe even a mini story. ^^ I hope you guys will enjoy that.**

**Hope you like the chapter.**

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It had been a couple weeks since Trevor showed up and there had been no sure sign about a female saber, and yet again it was raining harder than the day before. While Manny and Ellie snuggled together around the warm, blazing fire, Diego, Sid, Eddie, Crash, Trevor, and Casy sat at the mouth of the cave, telling ghost stories.

"And suddenly out of the darkness a hand reached out and wrapped it around the sloth's throat and he was never seen again," Diego ended the story there, his voice low to match the story. But it was simply to add more scare to the sloth. Sid had wide eyes.

"W-what?" he gulped.

Casy smirked, who was laying down and had her head on her pays, turned her head to Sid, who sat next to her. "I don't know Diego," she said. "I thought I heard that the sloth was grabbed, then slaughtered."

Sid gulped and grabbed his neck, checking for anything and blew out some air. The sky lit up with lightning as Sid cried out and hid by Trevor, whom was sitting next to him with Eddie and Crash curled up on either side of him. He twitched. "If you don't move I'll eat you," Trevor growled, as if to threaten the sloth. Diego looked at him wide eyed.

"Trust me you don't wanna do that," he told the other saber. Trevor raised an eyebrow.

"And why not?" Trevor asked.

Sid smiled with a cheesy grin. "I haven't bathed in two months."

Trevor stuck out his tongue and choked. "I thought one of the possums had gas!" Trevor covered his mouth with his paw. "Good grief sloth."

Casy snorted, smearing a laugh. She smirked. "Now you know how we feel," she teased. "Trust me, at first I wanted to eat him, but he actually seemed worthy of something."

Sid smiled, thinking that was actually a compliment. "Why thank you Casy."

Trevor laughed quietly as a booming 'roar' illuminated the air. Trevor looked out the cave.

"What was that?"

Casy, who had laid her head down and tried to sleep, opened her eye and looked at Trevor. "What?" she asked.

"It was a loud--" he was cut off by a smaller, yet equally loud roar, "that."

Eddie, at the moment, got up from leaning against Trevor and walked towards Casy and leaned against her paw. "Maybe it was the birds singing the love song." Eddie wiggled his eyebrows and Casy rolled her eyes.

Both Trevor and Diego rolled their eyes and at the same time said,

"It sounded like two sabers fighting." A wounded yelp radiated through the air.

Eddie, thinking it was Casy and that Crash had hurt her and though the other possum had been relaxing against Trevor, turned to his brother. "You hurt her!" Eddie tackled his brother and wrestled. Casy raised an eyebrow.

Trevor growled as his hair stood up on it's ends. "I can feel it." Suddenly, he took off into the rain.

"Trevor!" Casy got up and ran after her brother. "You can't be serious! It's pouring out!"

Diego rolled his eyes and ran after Casy. Trevor raced through the trees and through the dense air. His paws scratched the tops of flowers and dug into the wet soil. Suddenly he came to a clearing that had two sabers fighting; one female and the other male. The male saber was older by at least twenty years while she looked as old as Trevor himself.

He watched them closely as she rammed into his side and as he heard the sickening 'crack' of his ribs, the male saber snarled and raised his paw only to come into contact with her right hind leg. His claws were digging past her fur, past her skin, into her muscle. She let out a heart stopping cry as she fell down. Trevor had to do something fast when he noticed the male saber's paw was raising up higher into the air, awaiting the final moments of the young one.

Casy jumped the saber that was to slash the female. She roared, pinning him firmly against a tree and snarled.

The young saber looked startled as her eyes shown tears and blood that matted over her tan fur. Her eyes were wide like she had been caught doing something she wasn't suppose to be doing. Trevor jogged over to the saber and bent down to her level.

"Are you alright?" The female looked up and flexed her leg.

"I had everything undercontrol."

Trevor laughed cockly. "Yeah, sure. And that saber over there wasn't about to kill you," he looked at the saber again, "Why were you two fighting anyways?" The saber sighed.

"I've been chasing that deer for two weeks," she pointed her snout over towards the bloody deer,"and he comes along and takes it from me." Trevor stifled a laugh, but she noticed.

"What?"

"Two weeks?"

"Yes..."

"Wow, you really suck at hunting." The girl snarled and tried to get up, but failed as she fell ontop of Trevor; he could feel the blood ceeping through his fur; he shivered.

"Come on."

"What?!" she yelped as he rolled her onto his back, she was surprisingly light.

"We got to get that wound treated."

"My dad taught me never to talk to strangers."

Trevor snorted. "Sure honey."

Casy and Diego managed to get rid of the saber. They took the female saber to the cave, where Sid took a leaf and wet it and pat it on her wound.

The female saber hissed as the water touched the open wound. She spotted Casy and her eyes grew wide. "P-princess?" she said quietly that only Casy had heard her. The saber managed up enough strenght to get up to bow towards Casy, but slowly her leg gave out on her and she hit the floor with a booming 'thud'. Sid winced at the open wound.

"Hold still," Trevor said as he watched Sid pat her wound with the strangely large leaf; Trevor's eyes widened.

"Sid?"

"Yes?"

"What kind of leaf is that?"

"Why, it is a palm tree lead."

"Sid..."

"Yes?"

"What is roundish and is made on a vine?"

"What?"

"Moron!" Trevor exclaimed, mere aggravated and annoyed. "You're cleaning her wound with poison ivy!"

Casy groaned and Diego shook his head; Manny rolled his eyes at the sloth's mistake and Ellie gasped. Casy slapped her paw on her face. "Sid..."

"Here you go!" Eddie gave Sid a leaf; a regular leaf. "I got this one in case Sid would mess up." Eddie gave Sid a smug smile, to which the sloth huffed but grabbed the leaf from the possum.

The female saber groaned as the refreshing water was thrown on the wound. She smiled as she felt the blood leaving her fur, leaving her body. Eddie patted the wounded with the tree leaf he had found while Casy, Diego, and Trevor brought the female saber back.

"So what's your name?" Eddie asked her. The saber smiled and laughed at the same time.

"The name's Lily, yours?"

Eddie took a deep breath. "The female mammoth, Ellie, male mammoth, Manny, female saber, Casy, male saber with small teeth, Diego, the sloth, Sid, the other male saber, Trevor, me, Eddie, and my brother Crash." He pointed at each and everyone as he cleaned the wound. The female looked a little weirded out.

"Where's all your guy's heards?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're a herd!" Sid grinned.

Lily looked at the sloth, confounded. "What?"

"We're all a heard," Sid said and looked at Trevor. "Except for that one," Sid nodded at Trevor. "He's not a member or the herd." Casy bopped his head. "Ow! What did I say?"

Trevor chuckled. "I am not 'part' of the herd. I kind of morfed in without any agreement."

Lily scoffed. "I can see why no one would want you in a herd," she murmured.

Though Trevor was cocky and self-centered at times and he wasn't there for her when she was little, Casy defended for him. "Excuse me," she said. "But he's my brother."

Lily lowered her eyes, "I am deeply sorry." Lily's eyes wonderd up, "And thank you for saving me." Eddie patted her leg slightly harder and she cried out. The muscle in her leg was torn and she probably wouldn't be able to stand on it for a couple of months.

Casy snorted when Crash bopped his brother on the head. She shook her head and laid her head on her paws and was asleep moments later, the possums asleep at her sides. The gang settled, Manny, Ellie, Diego, Trevor and Lily awake.

Lily grunted as a bunch of leafs were wrapped around her wound; she attempted to stand. Though it hurt, she stood and limped towards the mouth of the caves. Lily looked back and smiled at the sleeping trio. Slowly she stumbled out into the rain.

"Where do you think you're going?" She turned and saw the saber that was standing in the clearing when she was getting attacked; she must never say this again, Trevor was very handsome.

Casy opened an eye and looked at Trevor. "Leave the poor girl alone," she murmured.

Trevor looked towards his sister. "She's wounded and attempting to leave safety?" Lily looked at Trevor and towards Casy.

"I am very capable to do things Mr." She narrowed her eyes. "I am not some helpless child."

"Sure about that?" Trevor inquired. Lily snarled at him and took a wrestling stance, her hind leg tingled, but she ignored it. Trevor got into the same stance and glanced towards the herd. Suddenly, he was tackled. He wrestled back, and only after five minutes he had pinned her.

"Stay here," Trevor told her.

Casy sighed and got up and pushed Trevor from Lily and lead her to the side of the cave and had her lay against the side of the cave. "Please stay," Casy said friendly. "I could use a girl around." Sid snorted in his sleep and kicked his leg. Casy looked at Lily. "See what I mean?"

Lily chuckled girlishly, but whimpered at the numbing feeling in her leg. "I'll stay," she said, nodding her head. Casy gave her brother a smug look before walking past him, past Sid and knocked the sloth upside the head, who halted his snoring and snorted and rolled on his side.

Trevor groaned and glared at the female saber.

"What?"

"Why are you like that?"

"Like what?"

"A snob; I have done nothing to you."

"Exactly." Trevor gave her a confused look.

"What?"

"You stood there while I was getting wounded...attacked."

"I think Trevor found someone with his personality," Casy chuckled, walking towards Diego who was laying against the side of the cave.

Diego looked at Casy and quirked an eyebrow. "Who?"

Casy nodded to Lily, who was bickering with Trevor, smirking when Lily insulted him. She looked at Diego. "I like her."

Diego smirked, "Some how I knew you would; they do make a nice couple." Trevor smirked and laid next to Lily.

"What now?"

"Get away you yellow-bellied saber-tooth."

Trevor just laughed. "I'm not the one with the limp leg."

"Oh shove it you knuckle head."

"We got nicknames now? How about Sugarplum?" Lily growled. "Or, Honey?" Eddie watched the two sabers go at it and smirked. Lily groaned and tempted to move, but her leg kept her there. "What can't move over?" Trevor pushed his front legs over so they touched hers.

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**A/N: So, how did you like it? Please review!**


	22. Author's Note Please Read

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**I know it has been over a year, (if not close), since I have updated this story. I found myself unable to continue within the next chapter, because I ran across so many things. For one, my writing has improved deeply since I first started writing this story, I need to change the characters views and how they act. I love all my reviewers deeply, but I also love this story so much that I am willing to rewrite it all.**

**I have been in the progress of such and I ask that you have a little more patience with me. This story will be deleted in less then a week with a new, improved first chapter and continuing improved chapters. =)**

**Feel free to drop a P.M. for any questions, comments and or suggestions.**

**Your humble Authoress,**

**Ivy Talonboom**


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